


" Second Life "

by orphan_account



Series: second life [1]
Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: 3racha are cute, Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, Bang Chan & Han Jisung | Han & Seo Changbin are Best Friends, Demon Lee Minho | Lee Know, Fairy Lee Felix (Stray Kids), Fluff and Angst, Ghost Kim Woojin, Immortal Bang Chan, Implied Relationships, Implied/Referenced Torture, Light Angst, M/M, Merman Kim Seungmin, Multi, Nymph Hwang Hyunjin, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Shapeshifter Yang Jeongin, Slow Burn, Vampire Seo Changbin, Witch Han Jisung | Han
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-24
Updated: 2020-07-28
Packaged: 2021-03-04 19:00:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 32
Words: 43,224
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25481299
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: "If a second life that's different from now is to come to me, will you be by my side?"alternatively; a story in which 9 people find a home, a family, and finally, a shoulder to lean on.≻───── ⋆✩⋆ ─────≺stray kids ; supernatural aupairings ; minsung ' woochan ' changlix ' seungjinmentions ; nct ' seventeen
Relationships: Bang Chan/Kim Woojin, Han Jisung | Han/Lee Minho | Lee Know, Hwang Hyunjin/Kim Seungmin, Lee Felix/Seo Changbin
Series: second life [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1845877
Comments: 8
Kudos: 72





	1. . intro

> **hello!**

this is _milk_ ( ~~formerly known as writer haruka~~ ) dropping by to announce that this is my solo work/series.

first, i'd like to say that 'second life' is an old work i have that i made back in 2019, september i believe, published on wattpad. it was a story i had planned for a while but somewhere in the middle of writing it, i realized that the story barely had any solid plot, thus sprung the idea that i should make it into a series.

disclaimer : the characters used in the story are real people and that i do not own them or anything and that they're their own person and that you shouldn't bother them with anything to do with some fictional self-indulgent work a fan made about them.

i apologize in advance for any inaccuracies or misinformation that i have written. i would appreciate some good feedback on my work.

another thing i wanna apologize for is still including woojin in this story despite him leaving stray kids, but as i have mentioned before, i wrote this story in september of 2019 while he was still in woojin and didn't know how to get him out of the story so suddenly.

rest assured, this will be the last time he ever appears in my story for respect.

other than that please stay safe and healthy! you're health comes first before anything else!

bai!!


	2. Run at My Pace

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Felix ran for his life

felix wasn't sure what had happened but he didn't stop to question it.

five minutes ago, he was laying on his sorry excuse for a bed with some other supernatural creatures. they were like him, not human and all, but they weren't like his _kind_. They were nothing close to the bloodline of the faes.

he tried not to get offended when he heard some of the employees of the facility claiming his blood was related to a centaur when they threw a centaur in his cell months ago. centaurs were creatures that represented chaos and barbarism, their likeness, and proclivity for trouble.

faeries tolerated no such things and it made felix wonder if these so-called 'professionals' even did their homework.

he became a good acquaintance with the centaur, who insisted to be called bambam.

bambam was nicer than he looked and was a lot more disciplined than Felix expected from a centaur. bambam didn't take any offense to this thankfully.

felix knew the older centaur was a lot more experienced and wiser than a regular centaur and he briefly wondered what he went through to get this mature before shaking the thought away. it wasn't his business to pry.

he had grown accustomed to the routines of the facility. He didn't understand what most of the creatures or doctors were saying because he wasn't fluent in the human language so he wasn't really prepared for the explosion.

the explosion that was the one-way ticket to his freedom and he took it.

now, all he knew was that he had to keep running. he had to or else they would catch him again.

all he knew was that if they caught him, they'd take him back to the facility.  
so he had to keep running, even if the people were staring at him like he was some madman on the loose.

well, he was on the loose but they didn't know that.

he could only hope that bambam wasn't an idiot and took his chance as well, or maybe he got caught in the crossfire after the explosion-

no, he had to keep positive. bambam was smart, he knew when to take an opportunity.

he hoped bambam was at least luckier than felix was, who had stopped in a dark alleyway, hopefully, miles away from the facility, to catch his breath.

he leaned down a bit, hands on his knees as he coughed. it had started raining sometime earlier while felix was running. it made him feel a little more alive to finally see a change of weather and ambiance.

he had been relying solely on adrenaline for most of the run from the facility. but now as he heaved heavily through his dry throat, he started to feel the ache of his legs and his side.

wait

felix held his right side and held it up in front of him.

oh, he was a fucking _idiot_.

felix glared at his hand as he collapsed onto one knee. he got _shot_ in his escape and was going to bleed out in a _dirty_ alleyway with _humans_.

five minutes of freedom wasted it by running for his life and now he's going to die in the most unsanitary place ever.

fantastic.

felix grunted as he fell back, leaning on the concrete wall beside him for support as he clutched his bleeding side. the rain making his hair all wet and causing them to stick to his face, letting some raindrops fall on his shoulders too.

bleeding out in the alleyway in the rain after making a great escape wasn't the most idealistic way to die but at least he wasn't going to die in the hands of those _dirty humans_.

actually, felix didn't even live a great life.

he didn't have any achievements to show off, he lost all of his friends after he got captured (they probably already forgot about him) and he never had a family to begin with.

he at least hoped that where ever bambam was now, he was faring better than he was.

just was felix was closing his eyes to rest and accept his fate, he heard footsteps coming from the entrance of the alleyway and tensed.

the footsteps were soft but swift like the person coming was in a hurry. felix could faintly hear the person muttering something under his breath in a rhythmic pattern like he was chanting.

... was he singing? felix couldn't understand most of the gibberish the person was saying but his voice was soothing.

he heard the person halt, probably seeing the mess felix made, and stopped singing (felix hated how much he wanted the person to keep on singing). felix wasn't sure what was going on but he heard the shuffling of fabric and plastic hitting the ground beside him.

felix managed to open one of his eyes before meeting bright red eyes staring right back at him.

"you have made a great mistake coming here." He heard the boy mutter under his breath before he took off his jacket and placing it on top of felix. "But chan's gonna fucking kill me if I leave you to die here so i guess you just have to deal with idiots like us."

the boy opened the door that was beside them (how felix didn't see that door there before was probably because he had more pressing matters to attend to like not panicking at the sight of his blood). he grabbed the plastic bags and lifted Felix up.

felix would've been impressed at how the male was able to pick him up even with the weight of his faerie wings but he was too busy trying not to pass out, screwing his eyes shut in pain.

once felix was out of the rain, he was hit with the warm and soothing atmosphere of the room, the faint smell of coffee hitting his nose, which helped him stay awake.

"jisungie!! I need your help here!" felix tried not to flinch when the man holding him yelled.

he heard the shuffling of feet from somewhere in the warm room and a loud gasp.

"ah, watercresses!" What kind of curse was _that_? "get him to the guestroom while I get my things!" he heard a loud voice order before, what felix was assuming, running away to get his 'things'.

felix still had his eyes screwed shut but he felt the man holding him rush up some stairs.

"get him in here, _gently_." another hoarse voice said and he heard the sound of a door creaking open.

he felt a new foreign air hit him as he entered a different room, most likely the door the other person opened. the stranger set him down on a bed as Felix heaved, already struggling to stay conscious.

"jisung, hurry up!!" he heard the other man shout before he heard the man beside him mutter in a softer tone. "hey stay with us here."

felix groaned as he felt the man apply pressure to his injury, tears pricking the corner of his eyes.

"hold him down this is going to sting, a lot." the voice from earlier said before taking a deep breath.

felix didn't feel anything different for the first few seconds but he felt the magic coursing through his veins.

_live magic_. He'd been deprived of that for years, some part inside him tingling in nostalgia.

but the sense of freedom left when he suddenly felt the burning sensation tearing his skin causing him to yelp and writhe in pain. hands were quick to hold him down as he cried out.

"sorry!!" The voice above him yelped before muttering, "right, faes have different anatomies than most creatures." the stinging lessened and it started to grow warmer but it also felt like something was scooping his insides out causing him to cry out.

"just a little longer." The same voice assured but Felix paid little attention to it as he felt hot tears fall down his cheek.

" _leave me alone!!_ " he cried out in his native tongue, mind too numb to translate. " _it hurts!!_ "

" _just a little longer._ " the voice repeated again, this time in fae and if felix wasn't in severe pain he would've been surprised since very few people know the language of the faes.

the pain finally started to die down and felix could hear the faint rushed voices of the people beside him. his brain couldn't translate what they were saying properly but he felt a damp cloth rub his sweat and tears.

" _you're going to be ok,_ " a different voice assured just as felix was about to pass out, " _you'll live._ "

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> felix - nature faerie  
> bambam - centaur
> 
> fun fact: originally, bambam was supposed to be eric for their dynamic to be more accurate but i thought bambam would be more appropriate at the time.
> 
> -> but also i'm sorry if the writing is a lil' rushed and confusing


	3. This is Our Zone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> a weird set of trio welcome felix to their home

Changbin tried not to cringe when the door made an unholy loud squeak when he entered the room.

The room was a plain sight with a really simple layout. They never really bothered to design it since they rarely ever use it since they have their own rooms. Hyunjin and Seungmin both have their own dorms in their school so they don't use it that often too.

Changbin could even see some dust gathering around the sides of the cabinets and made a mental note to do some sweeping when he had the time before Seungmin comes in and talks their ears off.

"Changbin?"

Changbin turned his head to see Jisung spinning his office chair to face him with curious wide brown eyes staring at him, his dark red and black witch hat barely hanging off the side of his head.

Changbin could see some of the herbs he had brought in last night were laid out on the desk behind him. There was a soft bitter smell coming off of the beaker which contained some weird purple liquid.

"I got you some chocolates and your favorite strawberry milkshake." Changbin announced as he focused on the young witch instead of his surroundings. He lifted up the bag filled with sweets, the ones he knew Jisung couldn't resist.

Jisung always had the strongest sweet tooth between the three of them. Sometimes taking treats that were so sweet Changbin nearly threw up and gagged.

Sugar was one of the key ingredients to hyper up Jisung's magic so maybe that's the reason Chan even allows him to consume such dangerous food but some part of Changbin felt like Chan was a little hesitant on that part as well.

Jisung had jumped up immediately and grabbed the plastic bag from Changbin's hands, eagerly looking in it. "Thank you so much hyung!!" he squealed excitedly and a little loudly causing Changbin to hush him.

Jisung then went on a hyperactive ramble about how Chan gave him a cup of hot chocolate earlier (which explained his hyperactive behavior right now) and how he was working on a potion for something.

Changbin doesn't always understand what Jisung is saying sometimes and mostly just relies on Chan to help translate what the witch was saying sometimes.

It didn't take long for Changbin to give up understanding Jisung's mile per second speech about how complicated and delicate some potions are and turned his attention on the boy laying in bed.

"How is he?" Changbin asked as he examined the boy, cutting off Jisung's rant about invisibility potions.

The vampire had heard news of a security breach in a facility on his way home but he didn't really think he'd run into an escapee immediately, especially not one on the brink of death in their backdoor.

Jisung had spent half the night watching over the stray instead of getting proper rest, which was probably why Chan gave him some hot chocolate this morning.

Changbin wanted to stay behind and help but Jisung shooed him out the room before the older could protest. The vampire still found it incredibly unfair that Chan was allowed to stay while he couldn't.

"He should be ok." Jisung said softly, slowly coming down from his sugar rush, "He lost more blood than a normal gunshot because of the rush of adrenaline but his body should be in the healing process right now."

Changbin nodded at the witch's words and was thankful that they weren't opening the cafe today.

They have their hands full at the moment and were one employee short since Chan went out to get some more _healthy_ snacks for the weak fae because Chan was sure the boy wouldn't appreciate energy drinks and junk food after recovering from getting _shot_.

"Is he going to wake up soon?" Changbin asked as he walked towards the sleeping boy, curious as to where he had come from and how he came to the facility.

It was extremely rare to meet any type of fae in this area since their kind usually prefers greener lands instead of the urban cities. It was probably the reason why Chan looked so skeptical when Changbin brought him in.

Changbin wasn't the type to go exploring, but he was pretty sure the closest thing to a green land here is at least a 5-hour ride, and that's going at top speed without traffic. The facility must've really been something to have anything like him around.

Jisung nodded, hair bouncing a little by the action. "By a normal rate, he should wake up probably somewhere to next week but faes heal a lot faster than normal so I'd expect later or tomorrow." He explained from his seat, legs swinging back and forth childishly.

"So they're that special, huh?" Changbin asked, raising an eyebrow when Jisung nodded his head up and down.

"Yup! Their faerie dust is also really essential in some potions and spells so I'm gonna try and ask for some dust when he wakes up." Jisung said as he turned and grabbed a container that was placed on the messy desk.

"You know you could just get some faerie dust in the market, right?" Changbin asked as he stared at the witch with a judging look. "They're not even that expensive."

Jisung rolled his eyes as he spun around the chair to put down the container, swinging back around while taking a sip from his strawberry milkshake. "Of course you wouldn't find it expensive, you have the net worth of five districts!"

"What are you calling me out for?" Changbin snorted, " You're one to talk-"

"We do not talk about my father." Jisung said sharply causing Changbin to stop in his tracks when he saw the witch's eyes glower darkly, "He won't even bat an eye for what I have to do or say." Jisung scoffed.

Changbin had known Jisung since they were young, they always saw each other at whenever all the rich people of the three allied districts have a party or anniversary meeting.

Jisung was from a family who didn't even know about their witch heritage and Jisung was the first person to discover it in his family which was why he had no one to help him through it since his parents didn't even know the first thing to cast a spell.

Changbin's gaze softened, feeling a little apologetic for the irrational way he acted and chuckled a bit at how they were fighting over something petty. "Right, sorry about that."

"You're stressed, I should be sorry for sounding like a brat." Jisung murmured softly as he looked down at the ground dejectedly

Changbin was about to protest when he heard the door open behind them, both of them turned to the door and saw Chan peeking his head in and stared at the two.

"Oh?" Chan blinked at them, entering the room and closing the door behind him. "What are you two doing here?"

At first glance, Chan would've seen like a normal person (other than the heavy bags under his eyes) He didn't seem to have anything that stood out like Changbin's fangs and crimson eyes (Jisung wouldn't too if he didn't insist on wearing a witch hat whenever they were inside).

But they all knew Chan was special, they just didn't know what he was. All they knew was that Chan was immortal and there was no known way for him to die.

Chan once stared them down with a sad smile as he explained his powers, saying that he had already tried and frankly, Changbin didn't want to know what he meant by that.

"I was making some potions to pass the time until the faerie boy woke up and Changbin came up to give me some food." Jisung reported as he turned back around to his desk, remembering what he was doing before Changbin walked in.

"Oh. Well, I already finished grocery shopping so we can finally have a decent meal instead of Chinese take-outs." Chan hummed.

"What are faeries' diets anyways?" Changbin asked while crossing his arms, "Are they as picky as vampires or are they vegan?" Jisung snorted at Changbin's words.

"Faeries ... I'm not really sure actually." Chan admitted as he stared at the ceiling, trying to recall. "I think they eat fruits and berries-" "Berries are a type of fruit, hyung." "-and some other plants that only grow in their presence." Chan explained while shooting Changbin a dirty look causing the vampire to laugh.

"So they're vegetarian then?" Changbin supplied after calming down which only made Chan groan but nod. "Assuming those other plants count as vegetables and not human flesh then sure."

"If that's so, what did you buy for him to eat? Veggies and fruits?" Jisung asked curiously as he spun back around to face his two hyungs.

Chan nodded again, "That's most of what I bought along with some strawberry yogurt, ice cream, and some milk as well."

"I can't remember the last time I had yogurt, wow."

"That's because you always eat unhealthy food."

"Yogurt's healthy?"

"Yes! This is exactly the reason why you shouldn't skip school!"

"Oh yea, when was the last time _you_ went to school!"

The entire room went into silence before all of them started to laugh (search: giggle and snort like hogs) together.

Fights between the three were hardly serious and were often just half-hearted banter for amusements (aside from that one time Jisung and Changbin nearly went at each other's throats)

"Who are you?"

All laughter stopped and all of their heads turned immediately to the boy now sat up on the bed, staring at them with paranoid eyes.

"Oh shit."  
"Um-"  
"Hey there!! I'm Chan and these are Binnie and Jisungie! So what's your name?" Chan asked with a soft smile.

The boy stared at them like they were monsters (which they were) and were going to kill him (which they weren't).

"What are you?" The boy asked, almost rudely, as his eyes flicked between him and the other two behind him.

Jisung huffed out a laugh at the boy's sharp tone and Chan heard Changbin hit him on the shoulder as he looked at the boy.

"Well, I'm immortal, Changbinnie here is a vampire and Jisungie here is a witch." Chan introduced with a soft laugh.

The boy turned his attention to him as he blinked. "Immortal?" he echoed, " _What's that?_ " the boy whispered under his breath (the words sounding like wind chimes ringing in harmony) Chan hadn't heard in a long time but Jisung seemed to perk up to it.

"It means he's _immortal!_ " Jisung made a sound that sounded similar to that of water droplets causing Chan to nod once his brain finally caught up that the boys were speaking fae.

Chan honestly felt a little proud that Jisung had learned something from their past lessons, he was a little hesitant to teach the witch fae because he didn't think Jisung would need it anyway, but it seems to come in handy today.

The boy seemed to gawk in surprise and stared at Jisung like he grew a second head, " _You can speak fae?_ "

Jisung nodded excitedly and bounced over to the boy's side causing him to flinch a little. " _I'm Jisung! Chan here taught me everything I know!_ "

Chan suddenly felt really flustered when Jisung boasted for him and sputtered when they both turned to him.

The immortal man could hear Changbin shuffling around from behind, being the only one in the room who didn't learn or understand the fae language.

" _So what's your name?_ " Jisung followed up while sitting on the bed next to the boy. " _Can you also say it in human tongue so_ Changbin hyung _over there can understand too?_ "

Changbin seemed to perk up at the sudden call of his name and was now staring at Jisung through narrowed eyes wondering what the witch had said, probably wondering how he should react to it as well.

The boy seemed to crack a smile at this, shoulders lowering a little as he answered. "My name is Felix. Lee Felix."

Chan grinned at him, "Nice to meet you Felix! Hope we get along!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> chan - immortal  
> changbin - vampire  
> jisung - witch
> 
> 3racha's friendship always made me uwu


	4. Let's Break the Awkward Silence

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> felix talks about what he remembers of his old life

"Hey hyungs, I'll be going out for a while!" Jisung announced as he grabbed his coat and beanie.

"Where are you going?" Changbin asked with an eyebrow raised.

"I'm going to the library to get some books." Jisung said as he walked to the backdoor, "I'll be back before midnight!"

"Aish, why does he even bother to get books when he rarely ever reads them anyway?" Changbin muttered to himself but heard Chan chuckle from behind.

"That's because he reads them when he's supposed to be asleep to save time." Chan explained with a sigh. Changbin turned to him and noticed him switching the lights of their cafe front on, turning on the ac in the room as well.

"You're opening the shop later?" Changbin had asked as he watched Chan put on his dark brown apron.

Personally, Changbin thought the uniform was too plain but he hardly contributed anything to the idea in the first place so he supposed he didn't have that much room to talk.

"Yea, I'm sure Seungmin and Hyunjin are going to be coming over later," Chan replied with a nod as he grabbed a mop from the supply closet. "Plus it'd also be a little suspicious to not open the shop after the breakout."

"Doubt it, they'd call you out as a major paranoid freakwad though." Changbin pointed out causing Chan to huff out a loud laugh. "When did you expand your vocabulary all of a sudden?"

Changbin only shrugged as the older man stared at him in amusement.

"Whatever. Changbin, you go take care of Felix upstairs. I'm going to clean up the front counter."

"You sure you don't need any help, hyung?" Changbin asked with a hand raised as a voluntary sign but Chan just waved him off and turned his back to him. "I got this, I got this."

"Alright, call if you need a hand, hyung."

"Same to you."

Changbin left Chan to it as he walked up the stairs and made his way towards the room that the fae was in.

He heard a loud thump come from inside just as he swung the door open and saw the fae laying on the ground right next to the bed that he was _supposed_ to be resting in.

"... Were you trying to get up on your own?" Changbin scolded as he closed the door behind him and ran over to the fallen boy's side, said fallen boy whining as Changbin grabbed onto his arm to support his weak shape.

"I thought I could get a drink on my own." Felix explained as Changbin lifted him off the floor and back onto his bed, tucking his legs under the sheets once more causing the fae to pout at him.

"You should've called for one of us." Changbin tsk-ed sternly at the boy. He stood up and went over to the mini-fridge they had set up in the room for Felix, blatantly ignoring the boy's whines of being fully capable.

"What do you want? There's some orange juice, iced tea and ... whatever the hell this pink glittery stuff is." Changbin listed as he took out a bottle of pink liquid.

Felix perked up at the sight of the liquid, immediately uncrossing his arms and made grabby hands to it. "Oh!! Hyung, give me some of that please!"

Changbin rose an eyebrow at Felix' shift in attitude. "Is this one of those weird stuff only faes have Chan was talking about?" he asked quietly to himself.

The vampire handed the bottle to the excited Felix, who wasted no time opening the container and drinking half the bottle.

Changbin made himself busy by pulling up a chair beside Felix not wanting to seem like a weirdo watching him drink whatever that pink stuff was.

"I haven't had _baia zuku*_ in forever!!" Felix exclaimed once he was done, looking very happy and giddy that Changbin just can't help but smile at. "It tastes almost exactly like the ones from home!"

"Home?" Changbin questioned as he took the empty bottle from Felix' hands, hands softly brushing against one other for a brief second before Changbin pulled away. "Where were you from before you were taken to the facility?"

Changbin regretted asking the question the moment he saw Felix' face darken a little and jumped to fix his mistake. "You don't have to tell if you don't want to, I'm sorry for bringing it up."

"It's fine. It had to be brought up sooner or later anyways." Felix sighed but turned to Changbin and flashed him a sad smile. "Besides, I feel like the people who saved my life deserve to know who I am or where I'm from."

For some reason, Changbin's face suddenly started to feel really hot. He turned his head and looked out the window only to see that the sun was already setting behind the tall buildings, stars starting to shine as the sky started to get darker.

It wasn't even that sunny outside to begin with so maybe Chan was messing with the AC again.

"I ... honestly can't really remember much about my home," Felix started off softly as he stared down at his hands, eyes half-lidded and face nearly blank as he tried to remember. "I just remember that it was full of life, full of green and ... it was _home_."

Changbin was leaning forward in his seat, all ears and focus on the younger boy who was pouring his heart out as he talked about his home.

Despite hardly remembering it at all, Changbin could hear the raw endearment in Felix' deep voice.

Changbin wished he felt the same for his own home, felt the same warmth and endearment as Felix, but vampires were a cruel race, even to their own.

The vampire suddenly felt guilty for the fae when he noticed he had gone quiet. The poor boy probably felt homesick now because of Changbin.

Almost reluctantly, Changbin opened his arms to Felix, cheeks flaring red as he avoided looking in Felix' general direction in embarrassment as he invited the fae for a hug.

Felix felt a little taken aback by the sudden gesture, Changbin didn't strike him as caring at all but he accepted the hug nonetheless, it's been a while since he felt the warmth of being wrapped in someone's arms.

Felix wrapped his own arms (Felix noted they were pale, very pale. Probably from the heavy blood loss he suffered.) around Changbin's small frame, quietly noticing how stiff the vampire was at the returned affection.

The hug started off awkward for them, both boys not used to the other's presence, but they soon warmed up to it and it felt ... warm and genuine. It was nice. So they just sat like that for a while, just holding onto each other for comfort.

"You know," Changbin said after a while, not moving from their positions, "I don't think Channie hyung and Jisungie would mind you staying with us."

Felix stayed quiet for a while and Changbin started to worry and backpedaled, "But you don't have to if you don't want to-"

"I'd love to, hyung."

Changbin blushed bright red as he felt Felix bury his face in his shoulder. "Thank you so much for everything you've done for me. Thank you for saving me."

_Maybe_

_maybe Changbin felt a spark in his heart._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> baia zuku* - i literally just google translated this from english to basque. it means berry juice
> 
> just some changlix indulgence for the soul


	5. We're from the School Life

"-and they didn't even have the book I was looking for!" Chan hummed as Jisung groaned into his arms from his stool next in front of the counter.

"The audacity!! They have the first to twelfth volume but then skipped straight to the fourteenth volume and told me someone hasn't returned the thirteenth one yet!!"

"Well Jisung, you aren't the only person with magical capabilities in the world. Other people might want to know about magic too." Chan explained slowly, seeing the witch was in a sour mood and would probably explode any second now.

"In this district?!! Chan, as far as I know, no other witch or warlock who lives here cares about the _basic_ laws of magic."

Chan opened his mouth before realizing that the younger actually drew a really good point.

It was odd since there weren't that many witches or warlocks in their district (they barely reached two digits) and even though there were some, they surely wouldn't need to learn the basics of magic, unlike Jisung.

"-and I'm pretty sure that person is way past the return date because they haven't returned the book in weeks! It wasn't even there when I was borrowing the first one! I would've thought they didn't have it but Renjun promised me they had completed the volumes from first to twentieth."

Whoops, looks like Chan accidentally droned out on Jisung's rambling (not like the witch even noticed)

"Maybe they just forgot to return it. Maybe some other monster was curious about magic. Try again next week maybe they'll return it by then." Chan reasoned calmly as he gave the younger a soft pat on the shoulder. Chan tried to believe that he said a logical answer.

"Well, what am I supposed to do in the meantime?!" Jisung groaned again as he glared at the ceiling.

"You can try out the lessons you learned from the previous books." Chan suggested just as he heard the bell at their front door ring, signaling a new customer. He was slightly thankful that they didn't come in earlier when their discussion was more ... specific.

"I guess..." Jisung grumbled as Chan left to serve the person that just walked in.

"Hi, what would you like to order?" Chan asked with a smile at the person who was looking up at their menu. Chan noted that he was pale and very skinny.

"I'll have a cup of green tea with some garlic bread." the person said with a smile, voice light and a little awkward.

"Ok, can I have your name please?" Chan said as he punched in the orders, taking the money the man was handing him (It was colder than normal human temperature.). "Jeonghan."

"Alright please take a seat and I'll just bring you your order." Jeonghan smiled before turning around to find a seat.

"Probably a ghost or ghoul." Chan mumbled to himself as he turned to start boiling the water, the other hand reaching for a knife to cut out a slice of garlic bread.

He had his back turned from the door to brew the tea when he heard the bell again. "Jisungie, can you take them for now? I'm a little bus-"

"Hi, Chan hyung!! Hi Jisung!" Chan sneaked a glance over his shoulder to see two boys waving at him with bright smiles on their faces (well, on one of them) and immediately grinned at them.

"Hey Hyunjinnie, Seungminnie. Welcome back! How was school?" Chan asked turning back to the tea he was making so he doesn't accidentally spill it.

"It was boring as usual." Seungmin's soft voice came, clashing with Hyunjin's excited, "It was great!"

Seungmin was a normally quiet person, usually tame until someone provokes him. A common trait among the mermen, Chan supposes. He mostly stuck to Chan and the others after meeting them and Chan just grew a soft spot for the merboy.

Hyunjin was a usually peppy and hyperactive nymph who almost always stuck to Seungmin's side whenever possible. Chan had a feeling there were some feelings involved but he couldn't get a good read on them.

Another note to take was that it was impossible to see one without the other at least a few meters away. Seungmin wasn't really that open to strangers to begin with and Hyunjin was almost like a sea puppy.

"Hey, guys." Jisung said from his seat as he turned sideways to face them.

"What's wrong with him?" Seungmin asked Chan as Hyunjin went over to the sulky boy.

"He couldn't find a book he needed at the library and went salty about it."

Seungmin tssk-ed and went over to the boys who were now engaged in an animated conversation, speaking words so fast Chan could hardly understand them anymore.

Chan shook his head and sighed. He took the cup of green tea and slice of garlic bread and made his way over to Jeonghan's seat which was located at the side of the cafe near the window.

The foreign man turned away from the window to look at Chan when he placed his order on the table, a polite smile plastered on his face. "Thank you."

Chan smiled back "No problem, call me if you need anything else."

Jeonghan nodded with a light hum before looking down at his drink and food.

"Are those kids your friends?" Jeonghan asked before he took a sip from his tea, voice soft as he stared at the three boys.

Chan hummed in thought as he turned to the three who were laughing about themselves over something Chan couldn't hear and smiled. "Well, they might as well be one of my own with how they're acting. I love them."

Jeonghan let out a soft laugh, "I have friends like that too, I treat them more like my own children than friends."

Chan smiled and was about to turn away when he heard Jeonghan speak again. "You're also open at night for creatures like us, right?"

Chan stopped his tracks and turned back around to face Jeonghan who was now staring at him with a curious yet alert look but his shoulders were slightly tense like he was ready to act in case he was wrong.

Chan was caught off guard, yes, but he had never been one to turn people away from feeling safe.

"Yes, we don't open the front entrance though, we have a door at the back which leads to an alleyway for people like us to enter." Chan answered in a hushed tone, he said nothing more when Jeonghan eyed him, shoulders slowly coming down.

Jeonghan smiled at him, "Thank you, your place here seems really nice and some friends of mine have been talking about it for a while now."

Chan chuckled, "It's good to hear some nice reviews from costumers. We don't really advertise our place at night just in case someone might overhear so we don't really get that crowded."

"That's good to hear, there's about thirteen of us in total but don't worry, I doubt we'd all be available at the same time."

Chan felt his eyes widen, "Thirteen? Are all of you ghouls?"

Jeonghan laughed at him, "Of course not, we're pretty diverse now that I think about it. My boyfriend's a vampire, my other boyfriend is a fallen angel. The other's are all different too." he listed down as he took another sip from his tea.

"A vampire and fallen angel, huh?" Chan echoed in amazement.

Vampires were a strict bunch. They don't like interacting with creatures out of their bloodline while fallen angels are just rare in general, it's not often someone falls from God's grace.

Changbin, on the other hand, was different unlike the other vampires Chan has met and that was what made him special in Chan's eyes.

It would seem Jeonghan's boyfriend was the same.

"You've got a special bunch of people then." Chan praised causing Jeonghan to beam a little. "Thank you! I'll try to bring them around if I can."

"Thank you, hope you like our services. You can come to us if you need anything." Jeonghan nodded and Chan took it as his cue to leave.

He turned his heel only to find that Changbin and Felix had joined the trio and were now hollering like maniacs at each other.

"-and then Chan hyung had to kick him out because he was causing a scene but then Changbin hyung came back with a mop-"

"Of all things, why a mop?"

"Shut up Seungmin, not everyone's an expert at homicide."

"Are you trying to imply something here, hyung?"

"What are you boys talking about?" Chan interrupted before Changbin got out of his seat to fight the merman.

"We were retelling the story of the 'Big fight' to Seungmin, Hyunjin and Felix" Jisung explained, "And Seungmin was giving critiques about Changbin hyung's fighting style."

"Who even uses a mop as a weapon?-"

"Not everyone carries around a knife like you, you water spawn of Satan."

"Now let's not get violent kids," Chan hushed as he patted Changbin's head causing the vampire to hiss and lean away from the elder, "We have a customer here who wants to enjoy his meal and you boys are making a mess."

"Sorry hyung." the boys said in a chorus but they clearly didn't mean it with those hidden eye rolls.

"Aish, why don't you guys just go play upstairs." Chan sighed, knowing he won't be able to stop their shenanigans.

Chan watched as everyone went to the back while grumbling, he could see from the corner of his eye that Jeonghan watching theme with amusement in his eyes.

He turned to Felix, the last person in their mopey duck group in the cafe front with Chan and Jeonghan.

"Hey bud, are they treating you well?" he said in a soft voice, as the boy turned to look at him with a sunny smile.

The fae nodded his head, "They're great hyung, thank you so much for taking care of me."

Chan chuckled, "Anytime, you can stay here with us for as long as you want but I think the others would love it if you stay and help us work here."

Felix stared at him for a while and Chan was just about ready to retract his statement.

"I would love to hyung." Felix said with a smile and it was then that Chan knew his fate was sealed

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> jeonghan - ghoul  
> ??? - vampire  
> ??? - fallen angel  
> seungmin - merman  
> hyunjin - nymph
> 
> ->hmm, a vampire and a fallen angel huh? i wonder who :)


	6. You have a 3rd Eye?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> jisung meets someone interesting at the library today

A few days later, Jisung found himself walking across the street to a dark alleyway.

Despite Chan's advice and reasoning, Jisung didn't have enough patience to wait another week before checking out the library again.

He tried, really, but his mind was getting restless at the lack of new knowledge (a normal trait among witches, according to Chan)

So he supposes he wasn't all that surprised of where he is, standing in front of the dingy antique-looking library in the dark alleyway. He's never been that good at following advice or rules anyways.

The library itself, in a short summary, looked fairly normal in human terms. Albeit, it did look a little old and looked like it came from the past. It holds many books from the 90s and 80s for humans to come in, they were mostly elderly or collectors.

But for witches and people familiar with the arts, it held books of ingredients, folklore, potions, spells and so much more. It was like a safe space for witches and wizards. (obviously, only witches could see those books thanks to a spell)

Jisung found out about this place by himself when he was wandering around the streets one day after he had managed to sneak out of his house. There was a pull to this place and Jisung was caught in its trance.

It was probably how most magical casters found the place anyway, and it was also how _only_ magical casters found the place. Any other being would've looked past its rusty exterior and left it be.

When Jisung pulled the handle and walked in, he was immediately hit by the warm air the library had. He heard the soft rings of the wind chimes that hung above the door to signal the owner of a new visitor.

"Hey, Jisung."

Jisung turned to the left and saw his friend, Renjun, standing behind the counter with a welcoming smile on his face.

Renjun was a witch just like him and was one of the only friend Jisung made on his own without the help of Chan. While Jisung fancied potions and herbs like most witches, Renjun valued the arts and stories of magic.

Renjun wasn't the actual owner of the library though, the true owner would be his brother, a wizard by the name of Kun. (don't ask Jisung, he's still not sure about the difference between witches and wizards. just pretend it's simple.). Renjun was just a regular here and Kun took advantage of that and made his little brother take care of the library for him.

"Hi Renjun, how're you and Kun-gē holding up?" Jisung greeted back with a friendly bow. He wasn't in any rush so why not start a friendly conversation.

"Kun-gē," Renjun scoffed with a grin on his face, "has a _date_ with a friend of his at the moment so he's not here."

"Ooh, do tell me more."

"As much as I want to embarrass him and want to gossip, I still respect my gē's privacy." Renjun responded pointedly, "But as much as I love that old man, I'm bored out of my mind here."

"Well that's too bad, where are your boyfriends? I'm sure they wouldn't mind giving you some company." Jisung suggested with a wink, laughing when a blush appeared on the witch.

"I- They're not- Just get what you need and leave." Renjun growled before turning around to read a book on the table behind him so Jisung couldn't see how red he was.

Jisung laughed before deciding to give the flustered boy some mercy and leave him alone.

As he walked further into the dark old fashioned room, he took note of the old framed paintings, photographs of flowers and animals, books cluttered on the ground in messy yet neat stacks, candles lit on the side of some cabinets (a fire hazard in Jisung's opinion) and some old tables and antiques that had dust gathering on top.

The old fashioned aesthetic was really soothing but Jisung was just thankful he hasn't seen any spiderwebs and shadowy figures yet.

There were also some people seated on the old antique chairs on the side (ones Jisung would sit in when he didn't feel like going home yet), all of their eyes glued to their books.

Jisung noted that there was a girl there that was probably younger than him looking at a fairy tale book, an old lady with a calm smile as she read her book, an old man studying a page of a pocketbook.

He shook his head, mentally telling himself to mind his own business and avoid interaction from mortals.

Without making any eye contact with some people who walked past him (some he was pretty sure were staring at him) and went straight to the isle he usually went to.

The thing about magic isles is that, humans don't really look into them that much. Their eyes just look over it like it wasn't there to begin with, Jisung observed that once during one of his visits. He stayed there for a few hours and noticed how wandering humans would walk right by the isles even though they were looking for something.

He turned and walked into one of the isles to check for the book he was looking for (thirteen really is an unlucky number, huh) when he stopped in his tracks.

There was a man standing in the middle of the aisle. He was wearing all black. Black long sleeves, black skinny jeans and black sneakers. He wore a white bucket hat and had a lot of piercings on one ear.

In summary, the man was gorgeous.

But then Jisung looked down at the man's hands to see what he was reading. That man was holding volume thirteen, the very same volume Jisung had been getting frustrated over.

And suddenly the gorgeous man was replaced with an asshole.

Jisung stood straight and forced himself to make a neutral face as he coughed to get the man's attention.

Jisung tried not to flinch when dark brown fixed their gaze onto him, they looked weird to say the least and Jisung would be lying if he said he wasn't intimidated.

"Yes?" the man asked innocently. His voice had a little teasing note to it which made Jisung's eyebrow twitch a bit in irritation.

"Were you the asshole that's been holding onto that book?" Jisung wanted to give himself a pat on the back for not stuttering.

He was really awkward around strangers, even in the cafe, but it was especially bad when he was facing attractive strangers.

"What would you do if I said yes?" the asshole smirked. He fucking smirked as he turned to face Jisung.

Jisung wasn't an idiot, he can tell that guy wasn't human and that it was best to not test him, especially since he doesn't know that many spells yet and he had a feeling that guy would _obliterate_ him, but he was feeling bold so sue him.

"Well, I'm pretty sure you're not a witch." Jisung started as he glared at the man, who rose his eyebrows in amusement, "And I'm also pretty sure you've held that book _way_ past the return date."

The stranger clicked his tongue and closed the book, his other hand hooking itself onto his hip as he took a step forward.

"Oh? What makes you say that, witchboy?"

Jisung gulped, the man was getting really close to him and he was getting uncomfortable with the choking atmosphere. Jisung took a step back before the man got too close.

At least he helped Jisung confirm that there was a spell on the isle because _none_ of the readers seem to hear their conversation and bothered to give him a hand on this _weirdo_. Jisung might as well get some pity points for what he's dealing with right now.

"Tell me witchboy. What do you think I am?" the man repeated as he stared down at Jisung.

Jisung gulped again because he really isn't sure if this guy is challenging him, taunting him or is he flirting with him? (wow he must either be really desperate, or a panicked gay as Changbin always calls him, to even consider that possibility)

He turns to the counter hoping Renjun at least hears what's going on is going to help him out here but unfortunately, it seems the older boy is busy having a conversation with his _boyfriend_.

Fantastic. The one time Jisung catches the boy making love eyes at the guy he likes is the one time he needs Renjun to fucking help him.

Jisung turns back to the man who seems to be waiting patiently for his answer which may or may not have made Jisung more nervous.

He didn't know why he even bothered to answer.

"I don't know what you are but I know for sure you're a really weird guy and that's enough reason to avoid you."

He definitely wasn't blushing when the guy ended up laughing out loud.

"Is weird supposed to be a compliment?" the man joked as he flashed Jisung a joyous smile, "It's obviously not but I'll take it."

"Uh, sure?"

"You're funny witchboy, so what's your name?" Jisung was about to decline when the man handed him the book he needed, volume thirteen. "My name is Minho, obviously your hyung."

Jisung eyed him for a second and looked down at the offered book, he could risk it he supposed.

"I'm Jisung."

"Aww, that's such a cute but generic name-"

"You're one to talk hyung."

"Aww you called me hyung too! Say it again!"

"What, no-"

"Can you two be quiet over there? If your gonna cause too much noise I'm gonna have to ask you to leave."

Jisung didn't know why their banter (finally) caught Renjun's attention nor did he know how Renjun managed to suddenly appear beside him.

"Renjun I-"

"We were actually getting ready to leave, Jisung here already has his book and we have somewhere to be."

Jisung flashed the mysterious Minho a look before looking back at Renjun who had a curious look on his face.

"Well .. at least you found the book you've been looking for, I'll sign it on your tab for you. You two can go do whatever you want just as long as you keep quiet." Renjun said with a sigh before turning around and walking away.

Jisung tried not to flinch when Minho threw an arm around him, blatantly ignoring Jisung's personal bubble. He stumbled as Minho forced them to walk forward to the exit.

"Come on, let's go for a walk."

"What, why-"

"You interest me witch, I feel like we're gonna get along well."

To whatever omniscient being out there watching Jisung right now, he can 100% confirm he is cussing out every single deity he could think of as he let himself be dragged out of the library by Minho.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> minho - ?  
> renjun - witch  
> kun (mentioned) - witch
> 
> -> self-indulgent panic gay jisung comin thru


	7. Trust me, you'll Glow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> felix makes a friend

It's raining again.

Almost like the night Felix ran away from the facility and was bleeding out at the back alleyway of the cafe.

The only difference between now and that night was that it was warm.

He was surrounded by the loud everyday chatter of heavy crowds, but this time it was different.

He turned to his left and saw a female banshee having an exciting conversation with a gorgon, her hand idly stirring a deep crimson shade of milkshake and judging from the scent, Felix was pretty sure it was blood.

He turned to his right and saw a satyr playing a worn-out looking flute to a dryad, both looking lovingly at each other's eyes.

Felix had to admit that he was pretty worried that some sentry is going to walk by the window and see just how many creatures are gathered here and capture all of them but Chan had assured him that they would be fine.

Speaking of Chan, Felix looked over to the counter where the immortal was busy at the workstation. He wanted to help the older man but Chan just told him to try another time because he doesn't even know how to cut a proper slice yet.

Felix thought it was stupid but it did make sense, especially with a large number of customers today (he was pretty sure he's seen some of them from the facility but he isn't sure)

Changbin was apparently on a break that night and had gone back home to get some blood of his own since his stash was running low. Seungmin and Hyunjin have retreated back to their school dorms the moment the sunset. Jisung still hasn't returned yet and that left Felix no other company since Chan was more than occupied with his job.

Felix sighed as his hand stirred his hot chocolate in a bored manner. He turned around to face the window and stare out on the empty street again when he was met by two crimson eyes staring back at him from outside the cafe.

Felix yelped and jumped out of his seat in shock, his spoon clattering against his cup. Felix tried not to look embarrassed when some people near him turned to look at him and instead focused on glaring at the person outside, who was laughing his ass off.

Felix was brave enough to flash him the middle finger causing the man to fall on his knees in laughter.

Strangers these days just keep getting ruder and ruder huh. Does being detached from society for so long really make that much of a difference? (Yes actually but Felix was being dramatic, so let him be)

Felix stared at the man as he stood up and made his way across the window and out of Felix' sight. He looked very strange if Felix was honest and he stood out like a sore thumb with his white hair and pointy ears and his shirt-

Wait, pointy ears?

Felix turned around when he heard the familiar ringing of a door being opened and saw the man from the window enter through the backdoor and was now making a beeline straight for Felix.

He blinked at the stranger in a curious manner, making him chuckle at Felix. "Hi, so I noticed your appearance and sorry if I'm wrong but do you happen to be a fae?"

Once again like the idiot he is, Felix blinked at him, still not fully understanding what the stranger had meant.

The man smiled patiently at him while reaching out a hand for a handshake, "My name is Soonyoung and I'm an elf, what's yours?" he introduced.

"Felix." Felix answered when he came back to his senses while taking Soonyoung's hand in a firm handshake, "And yea, I'm a fae."

Felix had never met an elf before, he's heard of them from the facility and he's heard stories from Bambam about how they were cunning and self-invested creatures.

He didn't see any of that in the man before him. He faintly resembled a happy hamster in Felix' opinion.

"So do you ever get homesick?"

Wait, what.

"Excuse me?" Felix watched as Soonyoung broke into a fit of laughter. forget about looking like a happy hamster, Felix was starting to think this one lost his marbles.

"It's a sudden question, I know. But seriously, have you ever felt homesick during your time here in the city?" Soonyoung clarified.

Felix can see Chan giving him a concerned look from the corner of his eye but he brushes it off as he focuses on the man before him, "Homesick..." he echoed numbly.

Home wasn't something he thought of in a while, and when he did, he's usually bitter about it.

It's because he can't remember it well enough, he remembered flashes of green and specks of gold and silver sparkles but other than those vague details, he can't remember at all.

He still remembers his mother tongue, he still remembers what he could and couldn't eat, he still remembers what he can do and shouldn't do, but he can't remember home.

"I can't remember home." he admitted sadly before taking a sip from his hot chocolate to get rid of that bitter taste in his mouth.

Gods, it was one thing to think about home and another to _say_ it.

It just felt so foreign, especially since there was no room for that nonsense in the facility.

Soonyoung stayed quiet for a moment, watching Felix drink his hot chocolate (which would've been really creepy if Felix gave a shit or two).

"You're from the facility too, I'm guessing?"

"What gave it away?"

"I guessed."

"Right."

"Well, I'm also guessing you don't remember your forest?"

Felix sighed.

He's annoyed by the fact that Soonyoung, a complete stranger until now (technically he still is), could read him so easily.

"Hey, it's ok." Soonyoung comforted as he stared out the window into the busy streets of Seoul. "I can barely remember mine."

"Tell me about your forest then." Felix suggested, he wanted to see if he could get a glimpse of his old home or at least something to distract his mind from going 'static', as the doctors liked to call it.

"Well, it's filled with lush grass and trees. On good mornings, you can even take a sip of some morning dewdrops or even some honey if the bees are in a good mood. There's also this clean sparkling river by the side that had these really shiny rocks, I hardly see any here in Seoul. Oh! And there's this pond too that has these really pretty naiads, they're really annoying sometimes but they're really helpful- Oh wait, I'm rambling again."

Felix can't help but laugh at the flustered elf, who now stopped talking to laugh sheepishly, "Sorry about that, Jihoonnie usually stops me when I go off."

Felix watched in amusement as Soonyoung's eyes widened. "Oh wait, let me tell you about my Hoonnie!! Jihoonnie is my boyfriend for five years now, crazy that we're still not married, and he's a dragon hybrid! I met him back in my forest and we've been friends for a while now and he's still as cute as ever. I know it's weird to call a dragon hybrid cute but he is! Besides, he only ever attacks people who are taller than him- which is pretty much everyone now that I think about it but don't tell him I said that!! Oh wait-"

Felix didn't mean to tune Soonyoung out, it was pretty rude of him to do so.

But he turned his head back when he heard the familiar ringing bells of the backdoor and saw Changbin walk in.

Changbin looked pretty worn out if Felix was honest, even sporting a dark haze in his eyes which made the fae pretty worried and gave him the urge to rush over there and cheer him up.

He watched as Changbin gave Chan a greeting before swiftly slithering past the crowd and headed upstairs.

"So is that who you're fancying?"

Felix snapped to his right to see Soonyoung staring at where Changbin had just disappeared to and promptly turned red in embarrassment.

"F-fancying? No, it's nothing like that, hyung! I-"

"Aish, no need to be so defensive." Soonyoung smirked in amusement as he watched the fae try to defend himself. "I'm not one to judge your taste in men, you got a pretty good one."

"Hyung, no!"

"Vampires are one of the top hottest from what I've heard from others, you could definitely get some-"

"Please stop."

"I'm serious though," Soonyoung said, leaning back to a more casual position than he's intrigued one from before. "If you like him, then why ignore the heart. Ever heard that the heart gets what it wants?"

"..."

Honestly, Felix hadn't even considered romance before (who the fuck thinks of romance in a _prison_ ).

But now that he's free, he might as well try ... right?

"I'll think about it, hyung."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> soonyoung - wood elf  
> jihoon - dragon
> 
> -> sorry if the svt ensembles pops in all too sudden but trust me


	8. You're Like a Matryoshka doll

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> jisung and minho get to know each other a lil' better

"I'm sorry .. you're a what now?"

"Ouch, but your reaction is to be expected I guess."

"Shut up Mephistopheles, you're a fucking _demon_?"

"I'm still your hyung so give me some respect."

"Holy fuck."

"I'm the opposite of holy darling, get it right."

Jisung gave him a judging look for the horrible joke causing Minho to let out an obnoxious laugh.

"But you're nothing like how the books describe demons to be?" Jisung asked with an eyebrow raised as he stared at him curiously.

Minho had to admit, he's a little surprised that Jisung isn't running away from him right now, that's how most people would've reacted when it came to his kind.

But Minho should've known that Jisung was nothing like the others.

"What? What's your ideal image of a demon? Do you want me to have some gigantic fork and horns and red skin?" Minho shot back.

"Of course, don't you see my witch hat, black cat and broom?" Minho rose an eyebrow at the witch's sarcastic remark and teasing smirk.

Tier two already, huh? He hadn't gotten along with someone this quickly before. Interesting.

"Alright smartass, now tell me a little more about yourself?" He gave a smirk as Jisung's turned into one of confusion.

"Me?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Why not?"

"Well, what do you want me to say?"

"Anything."

"Anything?"

"Well, you can start by telling me what kind of witch you are."

Jisung narrowed his eyes at him, almost like he was trying to glare at him but was obviously failing miserably.

Minho tried to suppress a smile when Jisung gave a sigh of defeat.

"Well I'm both a Hereditary witch, which is pretty obvious, but I'm also a Solitary one, I'm guessing you know what that means?"

Minho nodded. He had met a few Solitary witches before. Witches who have their powers and knowledge locked up inside them until a certain point in their life.

"Well I've already unlocked my powers because of my grandparents," Jisung sighed again, "but I have yet to unlock my knowledge, so I know almost nothing about how to be a witch."

Minho hummed in thought after hearing Jisung's words. On one hand, it's a surprise he even shared that much to him. Minho still wasn't sure if it was a good thing or a bad thing.

On the other hand, he was happy to hear that the boy trusted him with this insecurity.

"Is that why you were in the library looking through books?" Minho asked, even if he already knew the answer. He was pretty observant and good at remembering things.

To prove his greatness to you all, he could tell you that Jisung wasn't comfortable with the topic of himself. He could tell from the way the witch didn't even look at him once since talking about his abilities and how he subconsciously fidgeted with his sleeves.

Actually, pointing all that out now and still poking at the shy witch with a metaphorical stick did make him feel bad. It was like he was coaxing a small animal out into the wild.

"Yes, and no. Yes, I want to see if I can hit a trigger to unlocking my memories, but also so my magic doesn't overload itself."

Minho nodded.

Jisung was right, magic tends to go haywire when it doesn't get much practice. If he doesn't keep practicing it then the next time he casts a spell it's going to backfire so badly for him and everyone around him.

"What about you, hyung?"   
  
Minho blinked at him and wasn't afraid to coo when he saw the soft shade of red that was painted across the witch's face.

"What about me, Sungie?"

"Please don't call me that. I meant I want to know more about you too."

"Aww," Minho cooed again as he reached over to pinch the boy's cheek, he really couldn't help it, "Is the lil' witchboy interested in me?"

"Hyung, before I change my mind and leave." Jisung warns with an annoyed tone.

Minho giggled before answering. "Well, for starters I've been alive for centuries, been to a lot of places, seen a lot of things and done a lot of stuff, you know the drill and I guess, after a while, having powers to do anything get's pretty boring." 

Jisung stayed quiet as Minho talked. Minho's voice gradually lost it's teasing tilt and became more calm and smooth and _tired_.

Minho wasn't sure why but he felt like Jisung knew what Minho meant by being tired, like the witch understood him .. or dealt with something like this before.

Either way, Minho took the witch's silent reaction as a sign for him to continue talking.

"When you have all the time in the world, all the power and the reputation ... you tend to do the unthinkable." Minho started as he stared up at the sky, reminiscing memories he didn't miss at all, "You poke at your limits, you taunt at the powerful and see just how far you can push yourself just to see what you can do."

"And when you finally did it," Minho continued with a sigh, "You get bored, you try to find ... entertainment, let's say."

Minho could see Jisung take a deep breath from the corner of his eye and smiled grimly. He could already hear the loud thoughts and assumptions in Jisung's head and he hates to admit it too, but he's not exactly wrong.

He's done a lot of bad things, sure they were already expected thanks to the already amazing reputation of demons but now that he's out of that high, the guilt is slowly seeping in.

He wanted to pound his own face in sometimes, he'd blast music at a top volume just to drown out the echoing screams of his victims in his head.

Minho wasn't a saint. Minho was more than just a monster. Minho was a fucking _demon_.

Jisung had been silent, Minho noted as he stared ahead, the boy didn't seem that talkative to people out of his comfort zone so it wasn't like that was unusual Minho supposes.

He just hoped the witch doesn't rat him out. He seemed like a nice kid to stick around with if he isn't terrified of Minho after his little story.

"... So is your entire life just a soap opera or do you have a domestic life around this time?"

Minho nearly snapped his neck to look at Jisung in surprise, said witchboy already looking in his direction with big doe-like dark brown eyes.

_They were so fucking adorable and pure._

He hates to admit it but he's so happy that Jisung isn't pulling out holy water out of thin air right now (oh it's happened before.), he's happy that Jisung still trusts him enough to not leave him there.

"Well, I can tell you about my three cats!" Minho started a with grin, happy that they could pull away from the grim topic of his past.

It was perfect timing too since they were already approaching more crowded areas with more and more people walking past them. A domestic conversation about their life now without talking about who and what they were would make them look less suspicious.

"-Doong-ie is a little bit frisky and a little bit mean but I'm sure you two will get along oh- and I almost forgot about Dori, my newest cat!!" Minho exclaimed, not really caring (or noticing) about how ecstatic he sounded.

"So who takes care of them?" Jisung had asked, Minho slightly wondered if he was even interested in cats or he's just trying to continue the conversation. "I'm assuming you have a stable job to support your family of 4."

"Oh I do," Minho stated proudly, "I'm a dancer with my own studio, crew and I've been in a few performances, solo and backing."

"You don't look like a dancer to me."

"I'm gonna high kick you in the face."

"You're a dancer, not a karate master."

"Ever heard of the dangers of bboying?"

"B what now?"

"Breakdancing you uncultured swine."

"Rude."

Minho laughed, Jisung laughing along with him a second later.

"What about you? What do you do for a living?"

"I work for a cafe downtown with my friends," Jisung said while pointing ahead before lowering his voice to a soft whisper, "We open at night too for creatures around but we don't really advertise it."

Minho rose an eyebrow at the witch boy, "That's really ballsy of you guys. Aren't you scared you're gonna get sniffed out by the pigs?"

Jisung gave him a look, "Oh we know, but what good's a witch if we don't have any tricks up our sleeves." he exclaimed while running a hand on his sweater sleeve as if to prove a point (the sweater suited him, Minho wasn't gonna lie.)

"Of course. So if you don't advertise your place, then how do people find out about it?"

"Word travels fast," Jisung shrugged, "We're not sure but most of them just tell their friends or invite them out. Figured that's how it works other than sniffing the place out."

"Ah, I see your point." Minho clicks his tongue as he thinks, "I might stop by some time, I'm actually curious to see what you guys serve."

He says inconspicuously as they passed by two guards, both not even bothering to give them a second glance but the demon could feel Jisung stiffen a bit.

Minho just wasn't sure if it was because of the guards or if it was because of him.

"Well it's getting late," Jisung stated causing Minho to look up at the sky and realize that hey, it was getting late and the sun was already setting. "I should probably head back."

"Oh, uh, I'll see you later, I guess?" Minho smiled awkwardly. He already got along with the witch so well he didn't want to leave already.

"You can come with if you want." Minho froze, eyes staring at the witch in surprise causing him to cough awkwardly, "Not like that you idiot. I live in the cafe, you said you wanted to check it out so you can come with me to see if you want."

"Oh," Minho muttered dumbly, a bad feeling crawling up his gut but who was he to decline an offer from a cutie. "Sure, if it's not a bother." he added just to be safe.

Jisung nodded at nothing, "It's alright, the cafe is just a few more blocks ahead anyways."

"Lead the way."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> minho - demon


	9. Can't you see I'm doing this For You?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> tonight was anything but a good night..

Unfortunate was the word to describe everything that happened once Minho entered the cafe.

It was already late, somewhere around the time of 1:30 am, and Chan had decided to close the cafe for now (even though it's closing time is usually around 3 in the morning) since he was pretty tired from running around taking orders, serving and entertaining customers _alone_.

Granted he had asked for it when he opened the cafe but it was bad for a business to have an inconsistent schedule.

Fortunately, he wasn't alone in cleaning up the closed shop since Felix had volunteered to help him out, probably seeing the tired state he was in.

The older man noticed a piece of paper tucked neatly in Felix's pocket and when he asked the fae about it, he shrugged it off and told him it was from a new friend he made.

("It's not a suitor" Felix hurriedly added when Chan gave him an incriminating look. "I swear to the gods and stars, it's not a lover or crush Chan, stop giving me that look- no don't wiggle your eyebrows-")

Other than that they had cleaned up the cafe pretty quickly and quietly with some idle comments like 'hyung, the stain won't come off' or 'can you help me reach that corner? thanks'.

Once they had cleaned the place and washed the cloths and brooms, returning them back to the dark supply closet, Chan had sent Felix off to sleep after the fae gave not so subtle yawns when he thought the older man wasn't paying attention.

"Aren't you going to sleep too, hyung?" Felix asked tiredly as he looked at Chan, "You look pretty drained from earlier, you need to rest."

"I will," Chan promised while giving Felix a soft smile, "I'm just gonna wait on Jisung to lock the doors, he always forgets to do it when he comes in."

Felix nodded slowly, or groggily, before whispering a soft 'goodnight' to his hyung and dragging his body upstairs. (Chan could've sworn he heard the boy collapse at the top of the stairs before the sound of cloth being dragged across the wooden floor.)

Looking at the time, Chan couldn't help but start worrying for the witch that's still missing. Jisung did promise to return before midnight and it almost two hours past midnight.

Did he run into trouble with the guards? Is he being questioned right now? Did he get mugged? Is he still at Renjun's library?

Anxiety started to crawl up Chan's spin and Chan's mouth tasted bitter with fear.

Chan was just about to stand up from where he was resting to go peek outside the window when he heard the bell from the backdoor ring, signaling the door open and a set of footsteps entering.

"Jisung!! Where have you been-" Chan stopped his lecture before it could even begin when he turned around and saw Jisung with a tall man standing behind him, almost hiding behind the witch as he eyed Chan from his position.

For what felt like hours but really just minutes, the entire room was just silence other than the occasional cars that drove past them, light shining through the room before disappearing to the other side.

The three of them were just staring at each other, the stranger was standing stiffly under Chan's wandering gaze and the man was looking at him with curiosity and confusion.

Chan was trying to find answers of this person based on his appearance (pretty pale but not enough to be a vamp or banshee, eyes dark but brown instead of red like a ghoul).

It was less about who he was and why he was with Jisung (Why the fuck does he feel like a father judging his daughter's boyfriend?) but more on what he was.

He obviously wasn't normal, not when he's out this late and when Chan doesn't have a good feeling about him. So he must be like them, supernatural in ways science can't explain.

Finally, Jisung shattered their uncomfortable silence by letting out an uncomfortable cough as his eyes looked between him and the man standing behind him awkwardly. "Sorry for being late hyung, but uh, did you close the shop early? I was gonna show him the place."

"Yea," Chan had answered distractedly, eyes never leaving the quiet man behind the witch, "I was getting a little overwhelmed and tired so I thought I'd close early."

"Oh." Jisung had muttered dumbly, "Sorry for not being there to help then hyung, but I finally got the book I was looking for." The witch had taken out the hard-covered worn down book as if to prove his point.

"That's great-"

"Who's the new guy?"

All three of them turned their attention immediately to the stairs where the new voice came from.

Changbin was leaning against the staircase, eyes looking at the man behind Jisung with curiosity.

Jisung went quiet, Chan noted. The witch was quietly eyeing the stranger with something in his eye that Chan couldn't quite pinpoint what but it looked almost something like fear or uncertainty.

Both Changbin and his looks seemed to snap him out of whatever daze he's been in because he coughed awkwardly.

"Oh uhm," Whatever it was with this person, it seemed to make Jisung more nervous to be around them than usual, "Chan hyung, Changbin hyung, this is Minho hyung, a new friend I've made today at Renjun's library and uh, Minho hyung, this is Chan hyung and Changbin hyung, my best friends."

"Nice to meet you." Minho had greeted with a small smile, head tilting down to do a small respectful bow.

"Glad to see Jisung's being social for once." Changbin snorted, receiving an offended 'Hey' from Jisung and a smirk from Minho.

"Nice to meet you too, Minho." Chan nodded, quietly taking note of how close Minho is to the young witch beside him. "Sorry for closing the shop for you, I was pretty short on manpower and energy."

"It's ok, I'll just drop by another time." 

"Would you like a drink?" Chan offered, "I could brew some tea for you if you want."

"I'm good."

"What are you?" Changbin asked only to be met with pure silence.

He had dropped the bomb and the questioned they seemed to be avoiding (or was too awkward and distracted to ask).

"What?" Changbin asked after a few seconds into the silence, confusion was written all over his face, "You obviously aren't human, you don't smell like one, but you also don't smell like any other creature I've met before and that's a lot. So what are you?"

Minho was still silent and Jisung was looking down at their dirty hardwood floor with sudden interest.

"Jisung?" Chan called as he narrowed his eyes at the witch.

"He's a- uhm," Jisung coughed, looking anywhere but his hyung's eyes.

"He's a demon."  
"I'm a demon."

The moment the word demon is thrown out there, the already tense and awkward atmosphere in the room grew worse.

Chan could only hear the word _demon_ echo in his mind over and over again.

This man before him, Minho, was a fucking demon.

There were two separate reactions to their statements. Chan could only gape in what he would personally call fear and distrust while Changbin seemed indifferent, the only sign of a reaction is the way his eyebrows rose in amazement

(A demon is nothing to be amazed about, in Chan's opinion)

"The door is right behind you." Chan said, surprising himself with how cold his voice sounds.

 _He's the one responsible_ , Chan thought bitterly as an image of his old friend came to mind.

"Hyung!!" Jisung hissed while glaring at Chan for his rude words, Minho showed no sign of surprise, almost like he expected it.

"Jisung, he's a _demon_ , do you have any idea what he's capable of doing?" Chan accused as he glared at Minho, standing up in alert.

"He's not a bad person, hyung." Jisung defended while stepping forward so Minho was slightly behind him, "He's changed-"

"So he did do something before then," Chan growled, "Jisung get away from him right now."

"No!!" Jisung retorted with fire in his eyes as he glared at his hyung, making Chan glower. "He's a good person now Chan."

"You don't know that!! You just met him today!"

From the corner of his eye, Chan could see that Minho had shifted his head to Jisung's direction and tensed a bit in fear that he was going to do something to the stupid witch.

But to his surprise, though he didn't think he showed it, Minho just looked at Jisung in a way Chan could only describe as adoration.

(Was it because he was defending him?)

While Minho hadn't moved or reacted much to any of their words since they began biting at each other.

Changbin, on the other hand, seems to be more concerned about the disagreement between his two best friends. If the way his feet are almost shoulder length apart and his fangs baring was anything to go by.

"I'm not an idiot hyung-" Chan scoffed, "I'm responsible enough- old enough to trust and talk to whoever I want!!"

"And then you go talking to someone bad and you haven't even realized it yet!"

"That's because I know he's not a bad person!! You haven't even had a proper conversation with him until now-"

"And what if he drags you into something dangerous Jisung?!! What are you going to do then?! _You don't even know any powerful enough spells to knock someone down_."

Chan knew he'd messed up the moment those last words came out of his mouth, it was proven he did when Jisung clenched his fists and his gaze darkened.

".... Jisung?" Changbin watched nervously as Jisung said nothing. Turning his gaze to Chan instead, Chan could see the amount of worry and anguish in the vampire's eyes. (he should've put his other friend's feelings into consideration)

(He overstepped when he mentioned Jisung's state)

In a state of obvious fury, Jisung shoved past Minho and marching upstairs, footsteps heavy.

They all tried not to flinch when they heard a door loudly slam from upstairs, indicating that Jisung had retreated to his room.

This was new, they never fought this badly and it was all because of-

Chan turned his gaze and attention to the demon staring at the direction Jisung went and felt them narrow.

He must've felt his eyes on him because it didn't take long before Minho turned to him as well, blinking slowly before bowing lowly. (He wasn't going to lie, it did catch Chan off guard.)

"I'm sorry for causing you problems," He murmured, voice heavy and dull, "I'll be taking my leave now."

And without looking back, Minho stepped out of the backdoor, the door quietly closing shut behind him.

Changbin and Chan were both left in awkward silence, Chan with his emotions still clashing while Changbin was still soaking up what had just happened in that room.

It was already very late, a voice from the back of his head wondered how Minho's going to get back home without getting pulled aside by walking sentries only to shake the thought away.

He didn't care about that demon. He's probably powerful as hell, he can take care of himself.

Minutes ticked by in the quiet living room, Chan could practically feel the tension radiating off of it and it was starting to choke him.

From outside, a car drove by and briefly shone the room they were standing in, engines filling up the silent room before roaring away from their cafe.

Finally, and coincidentally at the same time, the immortal and the vampire made eye contact and opened their mouths to say something.

"I'm going to bed."  
"You better apologize tomorrow."

Chan flinched while Changbin's eye twitched in irritation, "Hyung, you know how Jisung deals with grudges, he's going to remember this night. Apologize before it gets too deep."

"I know but," Chan sighed as stared down at the hardwood floor, "I'm tired, Changbin. It's late and we have work tomorrow morning, get some rest while you can."

Changbin said nothing in response and continued to stare at Chan who did everything he could from breaking down right then and there.

"Goodnight Changbin, rest well."

(Tonight was anything but a good night.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm sorry if the ending was kinda rushed, i don't really know how to write a proper argument since i'm too awkward to even start one in real life ''''
> 
> -> i promise i'll try and get better at writing arguments aleifoawuo


	10. Like a Broken Compass

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> a brief look at 3racha's backstories

"Are you absolutely sure you don't know what happened?"

Seungmin asked the confused fae a second time with pure annoyance written all over his face.

It only worsened when Felix nodded his head hurriedly in fear of angering the merman further. (which already seemed like a lost cause)

"Calm down, Minnie, it's not his fault." Hyunjin reassured as he gave soft pats on Seungmin's back.

It had been three days since Chan and Jisung suddenly started to avoid each other.

It wasn't that obvious unless you pay close attention, but that happened to be one of Seungmin's talents, paying attention.

He noted how Chan would avoid looking in the younger's direction and how Jisung would always get up and leave when Chan was in the same room as he was. Not to mention the weighing tension in the cafe.

Felix has no idea what had happened and why everyone was in a downward mood. Changbin isn't explaining shit because "It isn't my place to talk about it." he would say with a tired look.

Seungmin has been trying his best to stay quiet and stay out of it to let the two have their brooding moment and maybe cool down but three days is usually the limit to their quarrels.

They've been doing weird things too from what he's hearing from Felix.

Jisung would sometimes leave the cafe to go somewhere, which was already weird behavior since it was pretty rare for him to even leave his messy room.

Chan is too quiet and is usually in his room, which is also rude since Chan is usually open and outside working or else he'd go crazy.

It's like they switched positions and places and it would've been funny if not for the situation.

Hyunjin and Seungmin have been trying to come over more frequently and much earlier than usual so Changbin and Felix don't have to suffer alone, all while catching up with school activities and trying to figure out what's going in the house because it's affecting everyone in their close-knit friend group.

But it's not like they could do much progress since they either don't know what's wrong with the two or don't want to talk (Seungmin usually glares in Changbin's direction now since he's at a loss of what to do)

It's also no help that Hyunjin has also been feeling down about his friends fighting, and since Seungmin and Hyunjin pretty much have their souls linked to one another, Hyunjin's sadness is starting to take it's toll on him too.

It practically hurts him to see Hyunjin in such a gloomy state, it makes his blood boil and makes him want to fix this more than before.

Seungmin groans in irritation as he slumps down on the table while Felix offers him a pitiful look.

"This is probably a bad timing-" Seungmin snorted into his arms, "but can I ask just how close were their relationships? Chan hyung, Changbin hyung and Jisung's relationship, I mean." Felix coughed.

It was quiet for a while between the three in their table, Seungmin stared down on the table (squinting at the faded paint and marks on it) while Hyunjin just smiles awkwardly as he avoids eye contact.

"Fine." Hyunjin sighs in defeat when Seungmin pokes his arm with his elbow because he knows for sure he ain't talking. Seungmin and Felix smile triumphantly.

Hyunjin opened his mouth to start speaking when he closes it again to look around the room to see if there's anyone to eavesdrop on them or if the people they were discussing were around.

(Personally, Seungmin thinks it's a lost cause since Changbin has sensitive hearing.)

Finally, after who knows how long of unnecessary stalling (it's not that deep sis), Hyunjin starts the story with a deep sigh, Felix leaning closer in heavy anticipation which probably only made Hyunjin more nervous in telling.

"Those three were like a family to each other because they have no one else other than the two of us. They made acquaintances and friends, sure, but they don't cherish anyone as much as each other." he summarizes and Seungmin finds himself nodding to the statement.

"Granted, they're not the only creatures out there abandoned or helpless, but the difference between them and everyone else is their dependency on each other." Seungmin adds after noting how Felix' eyebrows furrow in confusion.

"We'd tell you their stories sure, but it'll all be summarized because I think you'll want to hear their stories from them personally." Felix nods to Seungmin's advice in agreement.

"Chan hyung was always alone for centuries, being immortal and all that. Now imagine being alone for so long in fear of attachments, knowing full well you might live past them, watch them live and die. Wouldn't you feel scared and lonely?" Hyunjin asks.

Both sea creatures watching closely as Felix thinks about it before nodding his head slowly. "I guess it would." he mutters

"The chronic loneliness hyung felt was so close to swallowing him whole when he met Jisung. That's it about him, really."

"Wait that's all you can tell me about hyung?" Felix intervenes with a surprised look.

Seungmin and Hyunjin make eye contact with one another with an uncertain look in both of their eyes.

It was weird in the eyes of most people, the way they communicate. They've grown so close to one another, so attached to one another, to the point that they knew each other so well that it usually takes one look to pass a message between them.

Seungmin could name one time when a student thought they had a telepathic connection or were reading each other's minds.

Said student caused them a lot of trouble with the school head and they had to explain everything in a slow and painful process. Even until now, the student still eyes them warily and takes every chance to pin blame on them.

Felix doesn't seem to care about their silent conversation though, or maybe he doesn't even notice with how focused he seemed in staring at nothing.

"Chan hyung doesn't really like talking about his past, I don't think he tells Jisung and Changbin hyung either." Seungmin finally explains after rewording and rewording it in his head.

Felix frowns at the lack of information and Seungmin can't say he blames him. It is frustrating, not that he doesn't trust them, but it's like the feeling of not getting the complete puzzle pieces to finish the puzzle.

"Anyways, Jisung was the son of a rich man who had no idea of their witch inheritance. Ever heard of Han Corporations?" Hyunjin asks, only to frown when Felix shakes his head.

"One of the biggest music companies in Seoul. The Han guy has a huge net worth but his private life is a total mystery to the public." Seungmin explains and watches as the fae nods in understanding.

"He probably didn't even have a private life because according to Jisung, he's almost never around at home." Hyunjin mutters bitterly while looking out the window.

"So Jisung was almost always alone too?" Felix asks with a sad tone to his voice and Seungmin nods glumly in confirmation.

"You notice the theme here?" Felix nods.

"Let's move on to our favorite vampire," Seungmin starts off with a sarcastic tone to his voice, "Now I'm pretty sure Changbin hyung was an addition both of them didn't see coming but he fitted in almost immediately once he got past his dramatic aggressive phase."

It might've been Seungmin's imagination, but Felix seems more attentive now in the discussion about the vampire. He shrugged off the thought, it's never good to assume. Sometimes.

"Changbin hyung is also _loaded_!" Hyunjin piped up, "Being from a family of purebred vampires and all, they had riches that were from the medieval centuries with those cool swords on walls and suits of armors and stuff!"

"Don't even bother looking at him for cash though, because he hates his family roots as much as we all do and avoids them whenever possible." Hyunjin cuts off when he notices Felix' eyes shimmer.

"But I wasn't planning on-"

"Anyways, that's pretty much the summary of their pasts." Seungmin finishes, "If you want to know more, I suggest you ask them yourself."

Felix hums in thanks before pausing and looking at the two with renewed interest. "What about you two?"

"Us?" Hyunjin asks back with a confused head tilt, "What about us?"

"Aren't you going to tell me your backstory?"

Seungmin and Hyunjin made eye contact again, this time a look of contemplation on both of their faces.

Felix' gaze seemed to shift between the two as he watches their silent exchange.

'Can we?'

'Why not?'

'How about next time?'

'Whatever you're comfortable with.'

"Well, we met Chan hyung first before Changbin hyung and Jisung." Hyunjin said, "We first met hyung on the streets where Chan hyung had immediately offered to help us once he figured out we weren't human."

"What were you doing on the streets?" Felix questioned with a look of concern but Seungmin waved it off. "It's a long story."

"Anyways, Chan hyung helped us get into a school and even let us help around the cafe for some extra money sometimes if we didn't have enough." Hyunjin started to grin making the corner of Seungmin's mouth perk up a bit.

"We're really grateful for everything hyung had done for us and we hope we can fully repay him one day." Seungmin hums as he concludes their conversation.

Just in time too because they soon hear the sound of footsteps going down the stairs from the back, all heads turn and face a surprised looking Changbin.

Changbin takes steady steps towards the three of them and takes a seat next to Felix, who immediately scoots to the side to give Changbin some room to sit.

"What are you guys talking about?" Changbin asks curiously as he eyes them all.

Seungmin narrows his eyes because he's pretty sure Changbin had heard their conversation, or maybe half of it at most, before joining them at their table but he keeps his mouth shuts and looks at the others.

Hyunjin has his head turned and is looking out the window with sudden interest but Seungmin knew it was so Changbin couldn't read his emotions. Hyunjin was pretty bad at hiding how he feels so it was a good idea.

Felix smiles nicely at the vampire, Seungmin has no doubt he's still processing everything the two sea creatures have told him and the fae doesn't speak.

So Seungmin, being the most responsible of the group, just shakes his head at the confused looking vamp, "Nothing important."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -> feel like i was a lil' too vague about seungmin and hyunjin's backstories...


	11. Don't give me Peer Pressure

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the dam finally breaks

Changbin couldn't breathe at all.

But he tried his best to wheeze through his heavy lungs and chest.

It really hurts him that his two best friends- his two brothers- were fighting and what makes it worse is that he doesn't know who's side to take.

On one hand he sort of understands Chan's chronic overprotectiveness, seeing his past and all that but on the other hand, he also knew where Jisung was coming from because Chan's overprotective behavior can get a bit too much sometimes.

He also understands why Jisung's so defensive over his new friend because he's _been there_. He's had people call him a monster of monsters or a freak of shadows because of what he was.

Even after all those years, vampires are still considered one of the lowest of lows because of their past.

He's trying his best not to let ... all of this bother him, but it's starting to get a lot harder and harder.

It's especially not helping that Seungmin seems to glare at him at random moments, Hyunjin seems to be avoiding him and Felix keeps frowning at him.

For the first time in years, Changbin felt cornered like when he was cowering in the corner in his bedroom while his parents roared outside.

Changbin felt like his sense of security was falling apart, his haven.

It really started to pipe up when he heard Jisung and Chan's voices coming from upstairs.

It wasn't opening hours yet so thankfully no bystanders were around to hear them but something didn't really feel right in Changbin's gut.

It was confirmed immediately when their voices got increasingly louder as they approached the living room located behind the cafe front and near the backdoor.

"-it doesn't make sense!!" He heard Jisung argue as he reaches the bottom of the stairs. He's wearing his checkered red and white hoodie, grayish-green shirt and black jeans. His eyes were narrowed and there were heavy bags under them, emphasizing just how tired he is.

Chan was no different too, with his over-sized white t-shirt and black shorts and slippers. He looked paler than usual and his bags are much more visible thanks to his pale attribute.

"It makes perfect sense if you'd stop rejecting them!!" Chan barked as he glared harshly at Jisung.

Changbin stands from where he's seated on the couch and tries to walk away from them, away from the crossfire but just when he's starting to walk past them, a hand suddenly grabs his shoulder.

"Changbin hyung, please tell hyung being racist isn't going to help anyone." JIsung's voice pleads him as his own breathe hitches.

(And so he's caught in the crossfire he's been deliberately avoiding.) (but at least it's nice to know Jisung still respects Chan enough to call him hyung)

By now, the three of them are standing at the bottom of the stairs and in front of the back entrance in silence other than their heavy breathing, he can feel both of their eyes on him and it makes him tense like someone just dropped a million pounds on his shoulders.

And if his heightened senses never failed him before, he's pretty sure he hears a fourth heartbeat coming from up the stairs and it suddenly just makes the entire situation far worse.

The last thing he wanted was to get the poor faerie involved in their mess.

Chan scoffs, "Being racist? I don't see you going around befriending snakes!"

"Hyung! You're being irrational-"

"Oh, you really want to start with irrational?- Changbin what can you say about his behavior?!" Changbin visibly flinches when Chan suddenly shifts his attention to him, his eyes judging and watching his every reaction and movement like a hawk and Changbin nearly sunk to his knees in fear.

"Hyung, I really-" Changbin started before stopping himself.

What can he say? What should he say? What if he says the wrong thing?

"You really what, hyung?" Jisung asks impatiently.

"I don't-"

"He isn't going to say anything." A voice cuts him off making all of them turn to the owner in surprise.

Felix is standing at the top of the stairs, his posture stiff and straight while his eyes are baring into all of them in a sort of commanding way.

It was so bold and strong and so not like Felix, sunny and smiley Felix.

"He's not going to add fuel to whatever fire you're making because it's only going to make him and everyone worse." The faerie continues as he slowly walks down the stairs to join them in their standoff.

If Changbin was honest, he's pretty impressed that Felix managed to say all that without asking for some help in translation. Maybe he should give Seungmin some more credit in his determination on teaching the fae. (Changbin was pretty sure he's just doing it because he got sick of the crappy grammar.)

"He's your best friend but both of you are treating him this way! Can't you see how it's hurting him?!"

Ok so, Changbin wanted the ground to swallow him up right then and there. It was so embarrassing, it was humiliating.

He's a fucking creature of the night, one of the most common but feared creatures of the world and yet here he is being defended by a faerie.

Chan and Jisung are quiet as they stared at anywhere else other than each other and Felix, Changbin could feel their gazes linger on him for a while every now and then. (It _really_ doesn't help that Changbin can feel tears pricking at the corner of his eyes.)

It's pretty humiliating for all of them now that he thinks about it for a moment. Felix had almost literally just joined them a few weeks back and here they were giving him a world of problems because they were being petty.

Trying to be the bigger person, Chan took a deep breath and apologized, "I'm- We're sorry for causing trouble. We ... we'll try and fix this." He sees Jisung nod in agreement at the corner of his eyes.

Felix snorted in disbelief, "I think you two should have some time to think this through, you two aren't going to solve anything by fighting it out behind our backs and by not talking to us."

It takes a while for those two to retreat, but once they realize that they weren't really given that much of a choice (because they definitely aren't ready to talk it out without screaming and yelling.), they went their separate ways.

Changbin can hear the sound of a door softly opening and closing and the sounds of footsteps walking past him and going upstairs.

By now, the only people left in the scene of the crime were Felix and Changbin and that was when Changbin broke down.

Felix was by his side immediately upon the sound of his first sob, he was there to support him when his knees gave out under him, wrapping careful yet firm arms around his body so he wouldn't fall over.

"It's okay," the faerie whispered into his hair as sobs continued to come from the smaller (but older) boy, "It's going to be okay."

Changbin hoped so too, he really did.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -> feelixxxx thank you for protecting changbinnie


	12. Thank you for staying by My Side

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> jisung and minho talk

Jisung had decided to go to the park after the incident at the café.

It was partly because he wanted some fresh air and mostly because it was where his feet had led him.

Yeah, he didn't really have a solid reason but sue him. Felix told them to think about what had happened and fix it, and there's no way he's gonna be able to think straight if he stayed in that cafe any longer.

Like don't get him wrong, he still loves Chan and would take a bullet for the old man (despite the fact that he's literally immortal so he'd be taking a bullet for nothing.) but he's just so stubborn when it comes to their safety.

Another thing Jisung wanted to think about was why he was so defensive of Minho.

Maybe Chan was right and Minho was getting to his head, or maybe it was because Minho did nothing wrong (speaking in the present time and what he knows from the demon so far) to deserve that amount of disrespect.

(Even though he _is_ being disrespectful by being a goddamn visual model)

He'd literally just met him and yet here he is, defending him from his own pseudo brother, someone who'd drop everything just for his sake, someone who'd helped him through his struggles when no one cared.

Even then, his brain insisted, he's perfectly capable of differentiating right from wrong and he's not that much of a pushover to ignore fair treatment and judgment. He's the only one who has the right to decide who's good enough to stay in his life and who's not.

Jisung groaned as he practically collapsed on a bench on the side, it was slightly dusty but Jisung didn't really mind as his mind was going miles per second.

There were too many things and questions on his plate at the moment and he couldn't seem to focus or find a good solution to them other than convincing Chan or letting go of-

"What are you thinking about?"

Jisung yelped and nearly fell off the bench at the voice that came out of nowhere.

Standing there to his right (how did he not hear or see him coming?) was none other than the man of the day, Lee Minho in all his sinful beauty.

(Who knew emotions made him poetic?)

Minho, while he did look amused by his reaction, was still standing there as he waited for Jisung to collect himself and answer him.

But Jisung couldn't because he didn't know what to say.

He couldn't think of a good excuse right now and if he did tell the truth, Minho would probably feel really bad and Jisung didn't want to guilt-trip him any further.

But that still left the problem that he didn't know what to fucking say.

Minho blinked at him before smiling sadly, "It's ok if you don't want to tell me. I understand that there are probably things you don't want me to know."  
  
"I-" Jisung was honestly speechless and he wasn't sure if it was because his brain still wasn't working properly or if it was just Minho being ... Minho. "I'm sorry."  
  
"Don't be." Minho answers as he waves off Jisung's apology, "I'm the one who has to be sorry."  
  
What? Why? Jisung thought as he gave Minho a confused look.  
  
"I was free today so I thought I should walk around for a bit to get some fresh air," Minho started as he sat down on the bench next to Jisung. They were pretty close and maybe Jisung's ears felt hot all of a sudden. "And I walked by the cafe earlier."  
  


Oh.

Jisung immediately looked down at his lap, not wanting to see Minho's face right now. It seemed to draw a sigh from the other though.  
  
"I saw you walk out the back and looked in to see what was going on inside and.." Minho paused for a while and Jisung suddenly felt like choking or crying. "Am I the reason your friend was crying inside there?"

Jisung felt his shoulders tense up, "No." he muttered making Minho make a confused sound.

"No?"

"No, you're not the one who made him cry." Jisung explained as he crossed his arms over his chest, making him smaller than usual, "I was probably the one who made him cry."

"Probably?" Minho echoed, sounding more confused.

"It's ... it's a long story hyung." Jisung hated how pathetic he sounded there, but he was filled with a lot of emotions he didn't want.

"Well, I have all day." Minho states and Jisung sees that he crosses his leg and leans back from the corner of his eye. He's obviously getting comfortable. (At least that makes one of them.)

"I .." Jisung sighs, "Hyung, I really don't think you want to hear about it."

"Sung," Under normal circumstances, Jisung would've screamed at the nickname, "I've had a lot of people shoot me down when they found out what I am, you'd think I'd be used to people trash-talking me by now."

"Well, are you?" Jisung challenges as he steals a glance at the demon.

"I'll admit it stings sometimes, but that's a normal reaction. I'll be fine by tomorrow." Minho reassures with a nonchalant shrug. "Now quit stalling and talk."

Jisung eyes him for another second, almost like he was trying to test him and see if he's worthy enough. Minho returns the stare with a determined look that just tells Jisung that he's not going to let this go.

So the witch gives in and explains every detail of everything that went down that morning. From the argument with Chan that led them to the living room and what led to a standoff then Felix cutting in to separate them.

Minho's reactions were subtle; like he wasn't bothered by the ways Chan called him out ( _He is used to it_ , a voice at the back of his head supplied bitterly.)

By the time Jisung was done, he was breathing heavily, trying to stop the floodgates from giving way. Minho didn't say anything for a while so the only sound around them was the wind.

It was supposed to be calm and peaceful but with context, it was just unnerving and uncomfortable for Jisung because he needed a reaction or at least something to ground him.

"You know, I can leave you alone if you want."

Minho says so quietly and offhandedly that Jisung nearly missed it. But he didn't because it was so absurd.

"What? Why?" Jisung asks as he turns to Minho, who's just staring ahead with a faraway look on his face.

"It's obvious I'm just giving you trouble." Minho explains in the same tone as before, "I'll stay away from you and maybe things will go back to normal between you and your hyung-"

"Minho hyung please." Jisung cut in, "You didn't do anything wrong, don't back down because of what someone thinks about you."

Minho didn't continue his sentence after that.

"Besides," Jisung adds, "I like your company. You're nice to talk to."

A few seconds come by and Jisung feels Minho move closer to him.

"Thank you." He hears the demon whisper, but the emotions behind it were clear, "Thank you, for trusting me and staying by my side."

Jisung feels himself smiling.

Maybe.

Maybe this is a good choice.


	13. I'm happy when i'm NXT 2 U

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the cafe after the fight

Moments after things had calmed down, Changbin had been eerily quiet.

Well, Changbin was always the quiet type, at least that's what Felix noted from every time he's around the older male (not that he's been paying close attention, nope, not at all), but this wasn't his usual quiet.

Maybe he's just tense after what had happened earlier. If so, Felix can't really blame him then, but it also bothers him to no end. The vampire just looked so ... dead. Deader than what a vampire should look like, that is.

The way he would barely react to anything happening around him, how he wouldn't answer to Felix' questions, how he would just look down at his hands and not move. He hadn't moved in hours and it was starting to freak Felix out.

Felix had gone as far as texting his elf friend for help.

> **HOSHIMOCHI: SORRY FAELIX, CAN'T HELP YA THERE.  
>  HOSHIMOCHI: WHEN MY HOONIE GOES LIKE THAT, I USUALLY JUST CUDDLE HIM INTO AN ADORABLE LITTLE MARSHMALLOW BURRITO AND WATCH A MOVIE MARATHON.**

While it is cute and wholesome, it's not really what Felix wanted (cough) to do.

Instead, he does what he should've done earlier instead of texting Soonyoung. Calling Seungmin and Hyunjin for advice (a risky move since he never asked for their schedule and they could be in class the moment he called) only to come out empty-handed.

He was about to hang up on them but jumped and yelped in surprise (Changbin hadn't even looked up to see what was wrong) when a sudden crash came from the other side of the call with Hyunjin loudly screeching a 'wait!!' as he fought to gain a hold of the phone that belonged to the merman.

"You could cheer him up by making his favorite treat. It was something Chan hyung always made for him when he was sad or in a bad mood. Maybe you can ask hyung to make it for him." Hyunjin suggested quietly like it was a secret no one was supposed to know.

"Do you guys know how to make it?" Felix asked.

"Err. No, but we know what the main ingredient is. You're gonna have to ask Chan hyung how to do it." Seungmin cut in from the background.

Felix was a bit reluctant to try that idea because that meant he'd have to _talk_ Chan, and the belated anxiety from the events earlier was finally catching up to him. (He still couldn't believe he did all that.)

"Fine. I'll go find hyung. What's the treat called?"

"Crimson Cherry Crinkles." Both of them answered in unison.

Felix thanked them for the information and hung up.

Though the two didn't tell him, Felix was pretty sure blood was the main ingredient for that treat. (it wasn't that hard to put two and two together)

Felix snuck a look at the sad vampire, sitting in one of the tables. He doubted Changbin would react well to seeing Chan again, he had to get him out of there if he needed Chan to help him.

Thinking of a quick distraction to get the vampire out of there, Felix approached the vampire and sat down next to him, placing a gentle hand on his arm.

"Binnie," (Felix wanted to smack himself.) "Do you want to go rest in your room? You look like you need it." He whispered despite his inner turmoil.

Changbin hadn't answered, and frankly, Felix hadn't been expecting.

So instead, he grabs a hold of his arm and shoulder and gently tugs the vampire to stand, the vampire thankfully light and complying to being manhandled.

Guiding the vampire to the stairs, Felix had a little trouble trying to get Changbin to climb up the steps, hand holding firmly onto the vampire's shoulder so he wouldn't suddenly collapse or trip.

It took a while but Felix managed to reach Changbin's bedroom door without him falling face-first onto the floor. Opening the door, Felix helped Changbin in.

Now Changbin's room was nothing like how he'd expected it to be. It was a bit stereotypical for him to assume that Changbin's room was like some teen in an emo phase or a satanic worshipper's hideout.

Instead, Changbin's room was fairly clean and cozy looking with its warm beige wallpaper and dark blue carpet, there was a large wardrobe next to the door and some band posters hung neatly on the wall.

The only thing out of place in the room was the messy work desk standing right beside the vampire's bed (it looked so _soft_ Felix had to fight the urge to jump face-first into it). The desk had multiple piles of messy paperwork stacked on top of it, most of them held down by very persistent paperweights that looked suspiciously like Pokemon action figures.

Felix didn't want to come off as nosy so he ignored all of them and guided the vampire to his bed.

Changbin didn't really lie down or look at Felix, still pretty dedicated to looking dead as he sat at the edge of the bed where Felix left him.

Felix sighed in defeat before giving him a pat on the shoulder and turning his heel to leave.

After closing the door behind him, Felix immediately made a beeline straight for the immortal's room, which was only to the left of Changbin's room.

He knocks on the door before he enters the surprisingly unlocked room and is sort of unsettled when he finds Chan just there, staring at the wall with his back turned from the door.

Felix gulped as he stared at the man's back with heavy worry weighing down on his chest. (Maybe he had gone too far?)

Deciding to test the waters, Felix walked up next to the frozen man (who still hasn't noticed his presence) and tapped on his shoulder to get his attention.

That seemed to do the trick as Chan finally snapped out of his daze and was now looking at Felix curiously.

"Look, uh, hyung? I'm really sorry for snapping at both of you earlier. It was completely irrational and kinda stupid of me and I really hope you forgive me." Felix bowed after his apology, not wanting to look at his hyung in the eye in fear.

He heard Chan make a sound of surprise and a hand grabbing onto his shoulder causing him to look up at the immortal in shock, only to find his hyung's flustered face flurry across his vision as he shook his head violently.

"No, no, no Felix, it's okay really. Besides, we really deserved it for being so rude and insensitive to you guys and Binnie." Chan insisted through his flurry of embarrassment, "We should be thanking you for literally snapping some sense into us. I'll try and talk to Jisung about it later."

Felix still felt pretty bad but he's thankful that Chan didn't hate him for what he did earlier.

"That's great, thanks hyung." Felix smiled at him making Chan smile back at him, "But I need to ask for a little favor, please?"

Chan tilted his head curiously as he waited for Felix to tell him what he needed.

"Erm, you see hyung. I really hate to put the blame on you and Jisung but now Changbin hyung's in this really sad mood and he's not reacting to anything-" Felix almost stops when he sees how Chan's look drops in guilt "So I talked to Seungmin and Hyunjin about it and they said you always made him this snack called-"

"Crimson Cherry Crinkles, right?" Chan finishes for him with a look of understanding. "I could teach you how to make it if you'd like."

Felix smiles, "Yes please."

"We'd better hurry up though, it's nearly opening time and regulars are probably getting ready to come here." Chan warns before he gets up from the bed and stretches. "Go downstairs and cover the windows for a while, will you? I have to go get blood from the back first."

Felix nods in understanding, also because he knows himself that he can get a little squeamish around blood (he's not used to them, not even after the tests in the facility) so he walks out the room and back to the cafe front.

When he gets there, he's startled to see someone already peering through the windows. The person sees him before he could rush out of sight and starts making wild hand gestures.

Felix grows even more confused and approaches the entrance, unlocking it and poking his head out, "What?"

The stranger smiles awkwardly, "I was asking if Changbin or Chan was around, I was gonna stop by last night but he already closed down."

"Oh, Chan hyung's at the back-" Felix had to bite his tongue to stop himself from giving too many details before realizing something, "Wait, last night? So you're a-"

The man shushes him before he could continue and gives him a wink, "Let's not talk about that here." Felix just nods. "Anyways, I had a special order made for this morning? It's for my mother and I-"

"Jaehyun!!" a voice came from behind Felix causing the boy to jump. "Give me a few seconds to get your macarons." Chan's voice faded as he went back to where he came from.

"Thanks, Channie!!" Jaehyun called after the immortal before fixing his attention back to Felix, "So are you a new hire? I don't think I've seen you around here before."

"I uh, I escaped from facility nine." Felix murmured shyly.

"The one that had a major breakout?" Jaehyun gasped, "No way, that sounds so cool! So, how is it staying with Chan and the others? Have they been treating you well?"

"Uuuhhh," Felix looked around awkwardly, "I'm much happier here? I'm really glad they accepted me and allowed me to stay with them." He said while feeling a blush form on his face.

"That's good, that's good." Jaehyun cheered with a warm smile. "I wish you well, kid."

"My name is Felix."

"Here it is." Chan's voice announced as a box appeared next to Felix' head and handed to Jaehyun, "Hope to see you soon Jae! Tell your mom I said hi!"

"Thanks, Chan!!" Jaehyun smiled wider and turned around, but not before waving Felix goodbye. "See you later kid!"

Felix awkwardly waved the mysterious man off before walking back into the cafe with Chan. "What is he?" the fae asked after a few seconds of watching Chan arrange the ingredients properly on the counter.

"Jaehyun?" Chan had asked, back still turned on the younger.

"Yeah."

"Oh, he's a werewolf."

"Really?" Felix asked with wide eyes. He had met other werewolves in the facilities but none of them gave off a sunny vibe as Jaehyun did. Maybe he wasn't an alpha?

"Does that mean he can transform into a wolf whenever he wants?"

"Err, not exactly." Chan chuckles at the innocent question, "He's a turned werewolf, not purebred so he can't really shift that fluently."

Felix frowns, "So he got bit by one and became one?"

"Jaehyun... He didn't get bit by anyone per se, but he did get cursed by someone. A warlock maybe." Chan stopped what he was doing and hums in thought, "Then again, curses and hexes are pretty hard to get away with nowadays, whoever did this to him must be really good."

"What if it's an ancient curse?" Felix suggests, "Like one that's been passed down by blood?"

"Could be." Chan notes before he continued cleaning the table, "He's gotten pretty used to his new lifestyle though so I guess he's learned to accept what he's become."

Felix stays silent as he thinks about it for a second.

Cursed.

Is there a curse that can make someone forget their memories?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> jaehyun - cursed werewolf
> 
> -> fun fact: when i wrote this chapter, my best friend took me to a baking session kind of event where they teach kids how to bake and we made crinkles there, thus inspired me to write changbin's vampire treat


	14. Stuck in a Runner's High

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> a shocking newcomer enters the fray

It was a cold morning.

And Jeongin was freezing.

He was currently in the shape of a mouse and feeding on a piece of a nearly rotten _something_ which he was pretty sure would give him stomach problems later but he was hungry and it smelled edible enough for his rodent nose.

Beggars can't be choosers was the saying after all.

Jeongin threw down the unchewable remains of whatever that was and looked around.

The dingy alleyway was a little muddy and some had already gotten onto his fur and paws which was pretty unhygienic but that was the last thing on his mind right now.

What he needed was something warm, something to get him away from the cold.

Shifting into something more suitable for travel, Jeongin looked down at his new body and saw that he had shifted into a cat.

Satisfied with what he had become, he darted out of the alleyway.

"Holy shit!" a boy yelped as he nearly tripped over his lanky form when he ran out of the alleyway. Jeongin slowed down a bit in response to nearly being stepped on. His side hurt now.

"Haechan, calm down it's just a cat." one of them chuckled before kneeling down in front of him to pet his head. "Hey, there little guy."

Jeongin leaned into the warmth unconsciously before leaning back to sneeze when the stranger's gloves tickled his nose.

The other two bystanders standing by seemed to coo at his action, "Can we keep him?" one of them said a beat later.

"Are you that stupid, Yangyang? They won't let us keep pets at the dorm." the Haechan guy hissed as he glared at the person who said it.

"Well, you don't have to be so rude about it-"

By now Jeongin had tuned out their arguing on what they were going to do with him because first of all, the person petting him hadn't stopped at all and he was nearly in the arms of the person.

He smells fishy, a thought rose from the back of Jeongin's head but he was quick to tune that out too, maybe it's just his hunger.

"Do you want something to eat, little guy?" the person holding him asked and Jeongin nearly believed in miracles.

Jeongin meowed in response and the person choked, "Seungminnie, can we keep him, please? He's so cute." he whined as he turned to his friend who had been quiet throughout the entire thing.

"You heard Yangyang, 'Jinnie." Seungmin answered with a sigh, "They won't let us keep pets in the dorm, it's written in the rules."

"We can keep it a secret?"

"You're terrible at keeping secrets." Seungmin answered bluntly, Jeongin would've laughed out loud if he wasn't a cat.

"...But maybe we can keep him elsewhere." Seungmin suggested after seeing the sad look on Jinnie's face.

"Where?" he asked excitedly, apparently not catching on to what Seungmin was suggesting.

"I think he's talking about that cafe you two keep going to." the boy from earlier, _Yangyang was his name?_ , offered after he finished his little fight with Haechan.

"Oh." the boy muttered before wearing one of the brightest smiles he's seen yet, "That's a great idea! You're so smart Seungmin."

"That's probably because he's the one holding onto your brain cells." Haechan muttered to himself.

"I'm not denying." Seungmin hums making Jin whine.

"We can go there now, actually." Seungmin adds, "We don't have any plans with the others later, right?"

"Actually," Yangyang cuts in, "Xiaojun's going to help teach me physics later so I can't."

"And there's no way I'm going to that stupid cafe with all those stupid homo sapiens." Haechan sneers.

Jeongin would've raised an eyebrow, that was a weird way to call fellow peers. This Haechan guy was weird.

"It's fine, me and Hyunjin can go there instead." (Oh, so Jinnie was a nickname. It was cute though.)

"Do you guys want us to get something for you while we're there?" Hyunjin offers as he stands up, carrying Jeongin with him. (He was pretty tall, Jeongin thought begrudgingly)

"Uhh, I guess I'll settle for a mocha latte."  
"Give me a slice of strawberry shortcake."

"Fine, you're lucky we know the owner." Hyunjin huffs.

Jeongin watches as they exchange goodbyes and splits up.

The shapeshifter contemplates his choices for now. On one hand, he'd have to be subjected to constant petting and probably be kept as a pet for the most part. On the other hand, he has almost no freedom at all.

But at least he has someone to take care of him and give him food, right?

So he has to just behave well enough to not get kicked out or abandoned.

Wait. How do cats act? The only cats he's ever seen were really hostile towards him and the violent act was the wrong choice if he wanted these guys to keep him.

"Are you cold little guy?" Hyunjin purrs (Jeongin briefly wonders if he speaks cat before dismissing the stupid thought) "The weather's been a little messed up these days."

"Maybe a storm is coming," Seungmin suggests as he glances up at the sky. "My guts have this really bad feeling in them."

Now that Jeongin thought about it, he's been having this really bad feeling too. Like something big is going to happen.

"Same here. It must be really bad then."

"... Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Sleepovers because they'll surely postpone our exams?"

"No, you idiot, storms mean fewer people would want to go out, sooo..."

".. Want to go take a dive on the beach?"

"You know it."

Jeongin wanted to raise an eyebrow in confusion on what the two were talking about.

Who in their right minds would think about going on a swim in a storm? They would get sick for sure, maybe even drown or get carried away by the waves.

Oh no, was he getting adopted by psychopaths?

He'd better start thinking of an escape plan, maybe he could escape as a mouse again-

"It's been a while since I stretched my fins, I think my gills are actually getting a bit dusty." Seungmin added with a whine in it.

Wait what. Gills? Fins?, Jeongin was dumbfounded.

_The fishy smell-_

Craning his head from Hyunjin's arms, Jeongin turned to Seungmin and realized that he was wearing a scarf wrapped tightly around his neck to hide his gills.

Seungmin catches onto his gaze and returned it with a confused look before giving a sweet smile.

It was quite contrary to his sarcastic and witty remarks.

"Well little guy, here we are," Hyunjin announced to him as they stopped in front of a cozy looking area. (Is this what a cafe looks like?) "Let's hope Chan will allow you to stay."

"Oh please, Chan's a sucker for cute things. Besides, I'm sure Felix would be excited to have him around."

"Point taken."

Taking a whiff of the air, Jeongin narrowed his eyes as he took in a familiar scent along with four others inside.

But what also deterred Jeongin was the heavy metallic scent that he was all too familiar with. _Blood_.

Both males seem to be unaware of the smell as Seungmin steps forward and lightly knocks on the glass to get the attention of the people inside.

"It's a bit risky for you guys to be making that at this time, you know." was Seungmin's way of announcing their presence when they were let in by a blonde male.

"We know, but it's for Changbin hyung." a deep-voiced answered, Jeongin couldn't take his eyes of the owner once he saw him.

He was all too familiar. His blonde hair, freckles glittered across his face, tannish skin, _big curious eyes staring right back at him_.

"Ooh, you guys got a cat?!!" he cooed, apparently not recognizing Jeongin in his cat form. "He's adorable!!"

"This is a shapeshifter we found on our way." _Wait what_ "He seems to trust us enough to be manhandled but he won't come out of his cat form."

He turned to give Seungmin what he assumed was cat for surprised and he saw Hyunjin and Felix doing the same.

"Shapeshifter?" Hyunjin parroted in disbelief. "What do you mean?"

The other man standing in the room seemed to gain interest in their little feud as well, Jeongin craned his head away from Seungmin's knowing gaze and saw that the other man was also looking at him (almost the same way the scientists would always look at him like he was their little experiment).

"Well, cats are intelligent little things but this one seems more reactive to what we were saying than other cats," Seungmin explains as they all circle around him. "I don't know about you 'Jinnie, but stray cats aren't that docile when they nearly get stepped on."

Jeongin looked at all of them like a cornered animal, he probably was with the way he's burying himself into Hyunjin's arms in an attempt to back away from their gaze.

"Hey, hey, it's ok, you can trust us." the older looking man coaxed as he backed away a bit, probably noticing how he's practically _shaking_ under their gaze. "My name is Chan, this is Felix. I'm sure you know who Seungmin and Hyunjin are since they brought you here. We're not going to hurt you, we promise."

"Unless you give us a reason, that is," Seungmin added, apparently not minding the withering look Chan sends him. "Hyunjin you should probably let him down before he claws you in fear."

"Oh, right." Hyunjin let him down before dusting some fur off of his coat, "Sorry for cat-napping you."

"... Are you going to shift back?" Felix had asked after a moment or two of silence, Jeongin turned his attention to him.

He could always shift and get out of there in case something happens

After making his decision, Jeongin decided it should be ok to shift back to his human form.

"Oh, he's a lot younger than I thought he would be." Hyunjin muttered before yelping when Seungmin hit him at the back of his head. "Don't be rude."

"Ok so uh, what's your name?" Chan asked.

Jeongin kept eye contact with Felix, watching as the fae furrowed his eyebrows in thought and decided to give him a little hint. "Yang Jeongin." he said and watched as it finally dawned on him.

"You ... you're from the facility." Felix said as they both continued to stare at each other. "F-from sector Z."

"And your Professor White's favorite lab rat." Jeongin said back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> jeongin - shapeshifter  
> haechan - ???  
> yangyang - ???  
> xiaojun - ???
> 
> -> innieee!!!


	15. Shapeshifter 4419

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> jeongin takes the leap

_"You're getting better results, SS4419." one of the scientists watching Jeongin commended, "I'm_ almost _impressed."_

_Jeongin didn't answer, he never did when it came to most of the scientists._

_"You may take an early break, SS4419." Professor White, one of the more favored scientists in the facility for her soft and caring nature, told him as she flashed him a warm smile. "You deserve it."_

_Jeongin nodded wordlessly before turning around and leaving the compartment. As he steps out, he hears one of the scientists whisper to Professor White, "You're way too soft on these things, White."_

_"Don't be like that, Ms. Kim. Come on, let's get ready for our breaks as well."_

_Jeongin shakes his head and continues walking but halts his tracks when he nearly crashes into someone who appeared behind a corner._

_It was the faerie that came in somewhere last year. He seemed shocked by his appearance as well with wide eyes and a yelp escaping his lips._

_Two security members appeared behind him and shoved Jeongin to the side, "Get out of the way, runt." One of them growled in a ruff voice._

_Jeongin glared at them before making his way to the public cafeteria, not minding the apologetic gaze the faerie sends him._

\---

_"There he is again."_

_Jeongin looks up from the ground at the sound of his friend's voice and turns to the entrance._

_He sees the famous faerie enter through with two securities standing beside him, almost like they were shielding him like he was some kind of star amongst them._

_He was, honestly._

_His freckled golden tan skin was a sharp contrast to their pale and sickly bodies, his form a little leaner than their thin and frail ones. Probably from all the pampering treatment he's been receiving since his arrival a few years ago._

_"I get that he's imported and rare and all, but he can't possibly deserve all that." Kim Samuel, a beta werewolf and his cellmate, complained. "I mean, is having two bodyguards necessary?"_

_"You said it yourself," Jeongin countered, "He's imported, if he escapes then it's going to be a waste. Besides, who knows what out there holds."_

_"You sound like you've been out there when you haven't even seen anything past our cell windows." Samuel counters._

_"I've heard stories from the scientists." Jeongin states, "there are these vehicles called cars and they have places they live in called houses."_

_"Oh really." came Samuel's dry reply._

_Jeongin barely pays attention to him and focuses on the faerie, Felix he heard his name was. He was currently getting food, something that looks like honey and ... something._

_"Is that glitter?" Samuel interjects before sniffing the air and leaning close, "Sugar and pomegranates with ... glitter?"_

_"He already looks foreign, and now he eats foreign."_

_"Is he seriously offering them to his bodyguards?"_

_"Great now, he's acting foreign."  
_

_"Foreign, or weird?"_

_"Would you two stop judging the guy?" a new voice enter their conversation as he slides down on the vacant seat across from Jeongin._

_"Oh hi, Yugyeom hyung." Samuel greeted, "They let you out early?"_

_"You could say that," Yugyeom says ominously before leaning into them and whispering as if he's telling a secret no one should know, "I'm here to deliver you guys a warning."_

_"What warning?" Jeongin whispers back curiously, both him and Samuel leaning closer to their hyung._

_"Tell this information to whoever you like. I've heard from a friend of mine that he has a friend that's going to get us free."_

_Jeongin felt his eyes widen._ Free? As in out of here?

_"Are you sure?" Samuel asks as he shakes his head in disbelief, "What happens if we get caught?"_

_"Then you get recaptured." Yugyeom states with a hard look, "They don't care about us, they just want out and we get to join the bandwagon if we can."_

_"Alright, where will this happen?"_

_"Sector X, Far-East wing around dinner time, when all the guards are taking their breaks."_

_That was relatively close to their cells, they could hitch a ride._

_Jeongin nods, "Thanks for the information, hyung."_

_"I hope you guys make it out alive."_

_"Us too, hyung."_

\----

_The reaction is subtle but Jeongin can tell that almost a third of their facility was aware of the breakout already._

_Whether they were going to rat them out or going to escape themselves, Jeongin doesn't care as long as he gets out._

_He was sure Samuel was smart enough to get out on his own, probably get as far away from this place as possible._

_Yugyeom mentioned having some contacts outside that can get the facility off his trails so he didn't have anything to worry about._

_By the time the explosion was scheduled to set off at any second, about twenty inmates were lingering near the area, all spread out and having casual conversations with one another so they don't look suspicious while also keeping an eye peeled for any signal._

_Jeongin found himself standing alone, leaning against one of the walls near his cell. Samuel was talking to his other friends leaving Jeongin to himself._

_"Do you mind if I stand by and keep you company?" a voice asks and Jeongin turns to see the infamous cellmate of the faerie, Bambam._

_The centaur looks like he'd seen better days with some bruises decorating his body and a bleeding wound on his cheek._

_Jeongin narrows his eyes at them but says nothing about them, "I don't really care, you do what you want."_

_Bambam just hums, ignoring Jeongin's rude behavior. "I take it you're waiting for the sign."_

_"Almost everyone here is waiting for it, old man." Jeongin nods, "The security seems to be six feet in their own ego to even realize what we're planning."_

_"How confident are you that no one ratted you out?" Bambam questions, sitting down next to Jeongin so he doesn't tower over the shapeshifter._

_"Because no one's stupid enough to do that," Jeongin retorts, "Even if someone did, what are they gonna do to stop one-third of the facility's population."_

_"I see your point but still, they managed to control us for years. You would know, of course. After all, you've been here for quite some time as well."_

_"Have you been watching me?" Jeongin accused while narrowing his eyes at the centaur._

_"Maybe, it's not hard with your quiet and evasive behavior. It makes you mysterious." Bambam comments._

_"Whatever you say," Jeongin steals a glance again and sighs, "You think you can outrun them with those injuries of yours?"_

_"I can outrun anyone, kid." Bambam sends him a grin, "Don't doubt these old bones."_

_"What about your faerie friend?"_

_"Felix? That boy is strong, he can handle himself."_

_"You trust him that much? He's weird."_

_"He has a heart of gold." Bambam says with a justified nod, "I have faith in his survival."_

_"A heart of gold doesn't instantly mean luck and survival, old man."_

_"But it can take you far in life." Bambam counters._

_Before Jeongin can question the centaur further, he was stopped by the faint sound of hissing and multiple footsteps running from the opposite direction._

_"It's time." Bambam announces and stands, "I really do hope you survive, kid."_

_"Sure."_

_\---_

_The explosion that occurred was deafening but it didn't affect any of them as they all raced for the gaping hole of what was left of a wall._

_The alarm was blaring loudly and was illuminating the wide white corridor of the Far-East wing._

_Once Jeongin took a deep breath of the outside air, he had newfound determination._

_Freedom._

_So many things he wanted to see, so many things he wanted to experience, so many things he wanted to feel._

_No more restraints, no more tests, no more experiments, no more white lab coats._

_He could do whatever he wanted._

So Jeongin charged forward without turning back

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> samuel - beta werewolf  
> yugyeom - ???
> 
> -> a small glimpse of what jeongin and felix' life in the facility was like ^v^  
> also think bam and yug will make another appearance one day?


	16. Even a Shadow Needs Light To Exist

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> changlix bonding

"So do you two know each other from the facility or from your childhood?" Chan questioned a minute into the silent staredown between the shapeshifter and the faerie.

"The facility." Jeongin answered promptly, "He's pretty well known there."

"Really?" Hyunjin looked very surprised, "Are faeries really that rare?"

"They're common in other places like Europe." Seungmin clarified, "They're not normal in Korea though."

"You two are friends?"

"I wouldn't say 'friends'." Felix answered with an unsure look, "We just saw each other often and as Jeongin said, I'm pretty popular there."

"Well, maybe you can take the time to get along with each other," Chan says with a smile, before handing Felix a small red pouch. "You can take this to his room now. Try and cheer him up for us."

"Tell Binnie we said hi!" Hyunjin cut in as Felix grabbed the pouch and was heading upstairs to Changbin's room, perfectly aware of the steady gaze Jeongin has on him.  
  


\---  
  


_"Outstanding results as always, Felix." Professor White praised in English as Felix panted to catch his breath. "You may take a break at the side while the others run their tests."_

_Felix nodded, still feeling all of their eyes on him like they were interested in his every move._

_He hated it so much. He wished they would just mind their own business and leave him alone._

_He kept his head low to avoid eye contact with everyone as he made his way to the side where his cellmate and only friend, Bambam, was standing with a steady smile._

_"Don't mind them, kid. They're just not used to you being around yet." Bambam whispered in his native tongue. Felix remembered being amazed when he first found out Bambam understood him and had slowly been tutoring him to understand Korean._

_"Is that it? Or is it because I'm a professor's favorite pet." Felix replied bitterly._

_"I can't really blame the doc for keeping an eye on you, you are special after all."_

_"I can't be the only faerie in Korea, right?" Felix asked, voice high pitched and desperate. "They probably just suck at searching."_

_"The faeries here in Korea are very evasive when it comes to humans and modern technology, Felix. You coming here was a ...."_

_Felix' eyebrows shot up curiously as he stared at the centaur who had turned away. "A what, hyung?"_

_"Nevermind, forget I said anything."_

_Felix frowned at the response but didn't push further._

_"Felix, your break is over. Bambam, it's your turn on the field as well."_

_"Yes, ma'am."_   
  


\---  
  


"So Jeongin, Seungmin, Hyunjin, why don't you three introduce each other properly in the living room, I'm about to open the shop. Just keep your voices down when you're talking about certain topics."

"Thanks, Chan hyung!" Hyunjin said before taking Seungmin and Jeongin's hands and led them to the back of the cafe. "So, how much of the outside world do you know, Innie?"

"Innie?"  
"What?"

Chan chuckled as he heard the three conversate in the living room and looked back at the front door again before sighing, "Time to start the day."  
  


\---  
  


"Binnie? It's me, Felix." Felix called as he knocked on Changbin's bedroom door, pouch held tenderly on one hand. "I brought you something along with a mission to cheer you up."

When he didn't hear any response, Felix frowned and knocked again, "Changbin hyung? I'm coming in."

He twisted the doorknob and gently pushed the door open to poke his head through.

His face softened at the sight of the vampire now lying in bed, asleep with the most peaceful expression Felix had ever seen on his face.

Felix wanted to coo and smother his cheeks but he knew Changbin couldn't possibly feel anything for him, they'd just met the other day after all. (Plus the vampire would probably bite his face off)

Alas, Felix had to wake up the sleeping vampire. But does he really have to? He looked so peaceful and calm that Felix would rather jump off a cliff than disrupt it. Maybe he should come back later, Chan would understand-

"Is that Chan's Crimson Cherry Crinkles?"

Felix yelped while Changbin yawned and began to sit up from where he was sleeping, nose raised into the air as he sniffed out his treat.

"I- uh yeah it is." Felix stuttered as he, finally, fully entered the room and closed the door behind him. (If anyone asked, a blush was definitely _not_ on his face right now.)

He made his way over the side of the bed near Changbin and handed him the small pouch, which Changbin seems to gladly accept with him excitedly opening the pouch, eyes flashing red, before taking out a piece and throwing it in his mouth with a happy smile.

It made Felix want to scream but he held it down and just flashed the vampire a smile when he looked back up at him.

"Thanks for bringing me this and uh, sorry for acting all rude earlier." Changbin apologized before passing him the pouch, "You can have some if you want. Wait, can you faeries eat blood?"

"I- No thanks hyung, Chan hyung made that for you so it's all yours." Felix turned down and gently pushed the pouch away. "You looked really down earlier and sadness doesn't suit you, hyung."

Changbin's breath hitches for a second before he lets out a startled laugh, sound disrupting the peaceful silence that was in the room but Felix couldn't find it in himself to care as he cracks a smile as well, quietly noting how he seems to glow when he laughs.

"That's real sweet of you Felix. Thank you for this." Changbin said a beat after he calmed down, any remnants of sadness gone from his face.

Changbin, despite his looks, was extremely nice and fun to talk to, both of them having a long and entertaining conversation in his room about the smallest things.

As the conversation progresses, Felix had gotten close enough to the vampire and snuggled into his side, the other not minding one bit, even wrapping an arm around his shoulders, pulling him closer.

At one point in their playful banter, he sees Chan peeking into the room through the cracks of Changbin's door but couldn't bring himself to care.

Besides, he's pretty sure Changbin can hear him quietly giggling there judging by his red ears.

Felix is ok with it, he can deal with the teasing and the embarrassment later. It's peaceful now and it helps him forget about the events that future Felix will face.


	17. I know YOU

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> a familiar face from chan's past shows up

The day went by awfully slow for Chan.

What doesn't help that fact was that. There weren't that many customers or friends that stopped by, other than Seungmin, Hyunjin and their new friend of course.

It was barely noon but Chan was already so bored and tired, maybe it was from the heat of this morning? Was it really this morning? It felt like such a long time ago.

Okay, Chan would usually have trouble when it comes to time and trends, but he's been able to keep with it nowadays thanks to the millennials.

He's totally hip with the kids.

Chan slapped himself back to his sense (Ow) when the door chimed and an uptight looking woman walked in. Behind her, Chan sees a teenager following behind her looking like he wanted to be anywhere but there.

"Good day, ma'am." Chan greets her with a cheerful smile, "What can I get you?"

"Ah yes, I'll have a cup of coffee on the go." The woman ordered after looking at the menu hanged on top of the counter. "He'll have the same but with more sugar and milk."

"Coming right up, ma'am." Chan nodded, accepting her payment and turning around to start brewing.

"How long have you been running this business?" the woman asks and Chan could hear the faint hiss of the boy beside her but he was immediately shushed by the woman.

"It's a family business that's been passed down for generations," Chan answers plainly with a hum, thanking his past self for coming up with a backstory. "I'm the 3rd generation."

"Ahh, but I have to ask though." the woman says and Chan finds himself growing a little anxious about what she's going to say next. The boy seems to feel the same judging by the exasperated groan. "My mother used to take me to this very cafe when I was younger and I just noticed that-"

"Uhm excuse me, ma'am?" A familiar voice coming from behind the woman interrupts by speaking up and Chan nearly spilled the _hot_ coffee he was holding. He hadn't heard that voice in a long time. "I know they're raising the rewards for the capture of any supernatural creature but it's still incredibly rude of you to accuse someone of being one without proper evidence."

Chan could not be more thankful for this person for speaking up and getting this crazy mother off his back. He decided he should probably finish the lady's order faster so she could leave as soon as possible as to not stir up any more trouble.

The woman sputtered, a red tint spreading across her face (Angry or very embarrassed, Chan couldn't tell but he had never been happier seeing someone be put to shame before.) "Why are you defending him? Could you possibly be one of them too?"

"I'm not defending him." _Ouch_ "It's just that I'm having a really shitty morning and you're holding up the line between me and my morning latte." the man replied bluntly.

Chan wanted to laugh at the woman's face right then but it would make his situation worse so he kept a straight face and watched as the boy pulled at his mother's arm to stop her from answering back.

"Mom please, this is embarrassing, just drop it." the boy begged.

The woman stared back at her son with an obvious look of betrayal before huffing and rudely turning around, leaving him, the stranger and her son.

The boy sighed before facing Chan and the man and bowing, "I'm so sorry for my mother's behavior and thank you for not kicking us out of the cafe yet."

"It's fine, you can't really do much about it," Chan stated with a shrug before handing the boy his orders. "Careful, they're still hot," he warns briefly before the boy could hold onto them.

"Does she do this every time?" the man asked.

"Not usually, she usually just gossips about it with me or her friends. She only confronts about it if she's sure." the boy explained with a tired sigh.

"Sounds rough kid," the man pitied, "now get going because I think she's about to combust with how red she is."

The boy turned around and yelped at the sight of his furious mother. "Sorry again for the trouble sirs!" He apologized one more time before turning around and running to his mother's side.

There was a moment of silence between the man and Chan as they watch the boy get scolded by his mother.

"Well, this is an interesting morning." the man starts as he turns to Chan, who nods in agreement as he gives the man a look over.

"We've met before," he states bluntly "A long time ago."

The man chuckles, "I'm surprised you still remember me."

"Hard not to when I rarely tell anyone what I am," Chan quips with an amused smile, "but last time I checked, you were fully human, Woojin. What happened?"

The man, Woojin, gives him a sad smile, "Why don't we talk about this over some coffee later? It's a really long story." he suggests lightly, "For now, I just want to have my morning latte."

"In the house for an old friend."

They exchange another small laugh before Chan starts working on his order.

Neither of them realizes the steely gaze a certain woman has on them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm sorry if this seems like a really short and off-hand chapter


	18. Do you need a Placebo?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> chan and woojin flashback

_The sky was gray and so was everything and everyone in the streets of Seoul._

_The plague had spread far and wide and had affected nearly everyone. Piles of dead bodies are stacked on top of one another and left out in the open. Others are bedridden for weeks before their bodies finally gave in to the disease._

_It was peak devastation, especially for Woojin, a wandering doctor of the Dark Age soon it will be called._ (Or maybe a time that's best forgotten, as Woojin learns through time)

_Woojin had seen many of his patients, clients, and friends fall ill to the disease, each time he wouldn't have the slightest clue as to how to help._

_The plague was nothing he'd ever seen before and it was just heartbreaking to turn away affected patients but there was nothing he could do._

_He chose to go on a short expedition to find a cure for the disease, abandoning his clinic and the safety of his home to find an antivirus._

_He learned about many things on his expedition, different beliefs on how to fight the disease_ (some weirder than the others). _He's even_ _met some great people, but none of them compared to him._

_Bang Chan was probably the most interesting person he'd ever met_ _. There was just something about that man that piqued Woojin's interest._

_They'd met in the woods when Woojin had been picking herbs and berries for something to eat. Chan had stumbled into his vision, literally falling flat on his face._

_"Oh my God, are you ok?" Woojin asked as he stood up and rushed over to the fallen man._

_"I'm ok, I'm ok." He reassured with an awkward chuckle, accepting Woojin's hand and pulled himself up. "Thank you."_

_"Sorry for disturbing you but what are you doing here?" The man had asked suddenly while looking straight into Woojin's eyes, giving Woojin a clear view of his deep ocean blue eyes._

_Woojin's breath hitched in surprise but he recovered by coughing. "I was picking some berries for something to eat. You can have some if you want."_

_The man shook his head Woojin's offer, "No I_ _mean_ _what are you doing_ here _as in here in the woods." The man explained._

_"I'm just..." Woojin pauses to assess the man, weighing on his chances on whether or not he could trust this man._

_It was very unlike of him to question the value of a person but rough times call for precautions. Locals, tribes and of all kinds aren't at all kind. Probably hound him of his supplies when they find out he was a doctor._

_The man must've seen his hesitation because he offers him a smile instead, "It's fine if you don't want to tell me."_

_"I- please don't think it's because I'm a bad person or anything-"_

_"It's really fine, I understand why with how our world is now." the man insists, a smile still plastered on his face, "My name is Chan, Bang Chan."_

_Woojin nods, "Kim Woojin, nice to meet you."_

_\---_

_With a newfound companion to keep him company, Woojin suddenly found his travels much more bearable and easier._

_Woojin found out that Chan was a traveler and was planning on making his way to the Main District until he stumbled into Woojin._

_Chan was a joy to be around, offering caring words of advice when Woojin needed hope, cracking soft jokes when the mood needs to be lifted._

_It was like Woojin couldn't find a single flaw in the other male, other than his secretive nature and concerning tendency to stare off in the distance at random intervals._

_It wasn't that Woojin minded his evasive personality, he was his own person, he can have his own secrets and Woojin respected that._

_He just wished that the other would share_ his _concerns to him instead of bottling it in. It wasn't healthy, Woojin would know._

_(Though to be frank, after finding out what he truly was, Woojin wouldn't think he'd believe it either unless he saw it himself.)_

_So when the bottle finally cracked open, the other man had been a sobbing mess when Woojin found out and found him, barely able to form words._

_So Woojin wrapped his arms around the male, holding him firmly yet gently, in complicit silence once they were alone._

_"I'm so sorry." Chan croaked, voice shattered and is so devoid of hope that Woojin briefly wonders how long this man has lived, "I didn't want you to die."_

_Somewhere in Woojin's chest, butterflies start to go on a rampant, "It's ok, I'm not going to be dying anytime soon."_

_"That's what they all say," Chan laughs bitterly into Woojin's stomach, sniffling a little bit. "That's what they all-"_

_"Trust me." Woojin pledges, voice steady and soothing despite all that had happened. "Just trust me."_

_\---_

_"Ahh yes, the cure of course, of course, the cure." the doctor grumbled to himself in thought as Woojin and Chan stood before him. "My apprentice and I were doing some experiments in our office since the others seem to have given up hope, you can take a look at it if you wish."_

_"That would be great," Woojin replies with a grateful smile._

_The doctor nods before taking a stand, "Your companion can wait out here if he likes."_

_Woojin turns to look at Chan who has been very quiet since the moment they entered the Southern District to find the doctor._

_Woojin had to admit that Chan had taken a very dedicated turn in following Woojin all the way to the Southern District despite his plans on going to the Main District in search of his old friend. The Main District being so far North from where they are now._

_Chan seems to have snapped out of it when he notices both doctors staring at him and offers them both a compliant nod, "Of course, take as long as you'd like."_

_The doctor nods in return and turns his heels to walk towards the doorway behind his desk, "This way."_

_Woojin nods at the doctor, watching him slink off through the door, but turns around to face Chan instead._

_"What?" Chan asks in mild confusion. "Is there something-"_

_"We made it."_

_Woojin declares with a proud smile plastered on his face. "We're going to get a cure."_

_Chan blinks before huffing out a laugh, "Yeah, we did."_

_"We made it."_

_\---_

_To cut the story short, with Woojin's help, they managed to finish the cure and were able to spread the news to every district about their discovery._

_The people were all able to fight back the disease and were able to save their bed-ridden loved ones before it was too late._

_Woojin felt proud, knowing that he was able to save millions, a sense of fulfillment filling his chest._

_He turns back to look at his companion when he places a hand on his shoulder, "You did well." Chan praises as they both turn to stare at a happy family celebrating inside their now lively home._

_"They want me to come forward and make a stand here," Woojin says wistfully with a smile, "The Crown Prince himself is promoting me and the doctor to become the Royal Physicians of the palace."_

_"Did you accept?"_

_"What do you think?"_

_"You can't say no to the Crown Prince," Chan huffs sadly, knowing fully well what's going on, "And I can't stay in the same place forever_

_"Chan," Woojin starts but is promptly cut off by the other male. It was only then that he notices the teary gaze Chan has on him and his chest tightens.  
_

_"I just want to say thank you," Chan says in the most earnest voice he's ever heard from him, "Thank you for standing by me, thank you for being you and making me feel like I've done something good in this world."_

_"I- Chan." Woojin chokes as tears start to flood his eyes as well. "I'm sorry, I can still-"_

_"Don't." Chan stops again, pulling the now sobbing male close, "I won't leave yet, I still have time before they start noticing. It was bound to happen."_

_"I'm sorry." Oh, how the turntables have turned._

_"It's ok, everything's going to be ok." Not without you it won't._

_So the two males held each other as they sobbed, what was supposed to be a happy celebration for all, was sad parting of a Romeo and Juliet._

\---

But it doesn't have to be.

_Woojin thought with a sense of determination that seemed out of place, "It doesn't have to end like this, not without you."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> is this chapter too weird? too sudden? i'm sorry, i wasn't sure where i was going with this for a while too until somewhere in the middle.
> 
> i will gladly explain it if anyone asks though :)
> 
> but anyways, here's a woochan flashback :) i'm kinda proud at how romantic this one felt but i'm not really sure if you guys would understand it? let me know what you think~!


	19. WHO told you that?!!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the gang gets to know woojin a lil better

Jisung hated the fact that this was the first time he had been so nervous to come back to the cafe, the one place he considered home.

He tried to calm himself down on his way back, a few minutes after he and Minho went in separate ways.

It was just a disagreement, right? It wasn't going to affect their relationship whatsoever... right?

He halted in his tracks as he stood in front of the backdoor of their cafe.

It was already pretty late as it is.

Minho and he took a pretty long walk, talking about everything and nothing to help keep their minds away from what had happened in the cafe.

(And a whole lot of swerving on Jisung's part as he tried not to swoon at all the flirting Minho kept throwing at him.)

He stood there, probably looking like an idiot, as he tried to stop his brain from finding reasons to chicken out.

Pushing the door open slowly, Jisung peeked his head inside to look around for the whereabouts of the immortal man.

There was no doubt in Jisung that no matter how noisy the front may be, Chan always had a sixth sense for the location of his friends, like some radar. So there was no such thing as too careful when it comes to sneaking around the house.

Seeing as the coast was clear (for now), Jisung decided it was safe enough for him to enter the house and sneak himself into his room without rousing anyone.

Well, unless Changbin was up and about, and considering what had happened earlier is still fresh in his mind, he's not exactly happy with the idea of running into Changbin either.

Then there was their newest addition, Felix as well. Felix didn't know much about him yet since he's still new to staying at their place and he's already left a remarkable impression of himself to the fae.

 _Perfect_.

Jisung sighs to himself as he closes the door behind him. He lives in this pseudo-home-cafe with 3 other people and he was going to attempt avoiding all of them.

One of whom has enhanced senses and another who knows him inside out like the back of his hand.

It should be easy, right?

"Jisung!! Get over here! You're just in time."

_Easy to fail the first .5 seconds of trying._

Jisung turned to the source of the voice and was genuinely surprised to see Hyunjin waving him over to their living room with a wide grin plastered onto his face.

What's gotten him in a good mood? Then again, Hyunjin's almost always in a good mood but this one is especially good for some reason.

Letting curiosity get the best of him, Jisung makes his way over to the living room despite all his opposing thoughts.

It was only when he stepped in did he acknowledge the fact that Changbin, Felix and or Chan might be in there with Hyunjin but the merman already called out his name so it was pointless to hide anymore anyway.

To say his curious was even more piqued when he saw what or who was inside the living room was an understatement.

First of all, there was this guy he'd never met before who was wearing a an old rustic brown coat, the hat Charlie Chaplin would wear and some pointy shoes. The man looked like he'd jump out of some vintage 80's movie.

... Did they have movies in the '80s? He's going to have to ask Chan that once they're on good speaking terms again.

Second of all, there was ... a fox. A red fox curled up on Seungmin's lap. It didn't look that big so maybe he, she, it or they weren't that old yet but that still doesn't explain the fact that there's a fox in the middle of a modern district.

... But then again they live in strange times filled with memes, Vines and weekly investigations so maybe he shouldn't be too surprised.

The guy might actually be Charlie Chaplin's descendent and the guys must've bought the fox from Amazon.

Hahaha, he's just kidding of course... unless?

"Jisung, meet Woojin hyung, a ghost and- Innie get back in your human form -Jeongin, a shape-shifter. Guys, this is Jisung, the cafe's local witch." Seungmin introduced while petting the fox for emphasis.

Seungmin's explanation made much for sense than his mental analysis but no one's going to say anything about what's in his head.

"Nice to meet you Jisung." Woojin greeted with a smile.

"Yeah, you too." Jisung answers distracted as he squints at the supposed ghost.

"Jisung cut that out you look like an old man taking a shit."

"Shut the hell up, Seungmin-"

"Language." Woojin scolds with a stern almost motherly tone.

Seungmin rolls his eyes, "Calm down, hyung. Almost everyone curses these days."

"Does Chan curse too?" Woojin asks making Jisung narrow his eyes at the man.

Why was he interested whether or not Chan would curse?

"Sometimes, on rare occasions, right Jisung?" Seungmin answers while looking at the witch for confirmation.

"Yea, it's like, really really rare though." Jisung answers curtly while slightly shivering under Woojin's gaze.

Woojin hums at their answer, "Still, you do realize it is disrespectful to curse, right? You curse despite knowing fully well how rude it is to curse in front of a first-time guest. Just because everyone is doing it doesn't mean you have to do if either."

Jisung hasn't even known this Woojin guy for more than 10 minutes and he's already getting a motherly lecture from the guy.

Is he going to turn into a Chan 2.0? Wouldn't want that around... sometimes.

Seungmin was about to reply when someone spoke up.

"How is cursing rude?" Jisung nearly jumped out of his own skin at the new voice that seemingly came out of nowhere. "Does it mean something or?"

It would appear that during their short debate about cursing, Jeongin had taken the opportunity to change forms.

Now, still sitting on Seungmin's lap, sat a human boy instead of the fox from earlier.

"You ... You curse but you don't know what it means?" Hyunjin repeats as if he couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"... Ok, that's it, no one's gonna curse in front of Jeongin anymore." Woojin states with a voice that said no arguments about this.

Not like he was about to anyway.

"So... Where did you guys come from?" Jisung asks after a beat of silence.

It was a crucial question though, he had literally no idea who these people were and what they were doing here.

"Jeongin came from the same facility Felix was kept in." Hyunjin explained while reaching over to pet the boy's head, but the shapeshifter learned away from the nymph's advances.

"Same facility? So you escaped too?" Jisung asked.

"Yea, you could say that."

"What about you?" Seungmin asked as he turns to Woojin, blatantly ignoring Hyunjin and Jeongin fussing around in front of him. "What century are you from?"

"When, huh? Hmm, are any one of you studying the history of Seoul right now?" Woojin ponders, eyebrows scrunching up in thought.

"Hyunjin and I are, Jisung got homeschooled a long time ago and I'm pretty sure they don't have schools in the facilities." Seungmin answers.

"Oh, well... Have they taught you about the _Dark Ages_ yet?"

Jisung furrows his eyebrows as he stares at the man before him incredulously. "The plague that was started by the ancient witch coven?"

Woojin turns to him this time with his own bewildered face, "Witches started it?"

"I don't know about the witches," Seungmin cuts in before Jisung could reply, "But yeah, it was this really bad plague that flooded Seoul and soon all of Korea, killing millions in its wake."

Woojin still didn't seem too happy about Jisung's input but had decided to leave it for another time.

"Yeah, did they teach you guys who were the people who found the cure yet?"

Seungmin opened his mouth to answer but Hyunjin suddenly turned around so quickly that Jisung was almost worried about his neck. "Which one are you? Kim Donghan or Kim Woojin?!"

Seungmin and Woojin stared at him, almost baffled and incredulous that he even asked that question.

"... Woojin. My name is Kim Woojin." Woojin states slowly, watching Hyunjin carefully to see his reaction.

"Ohh, so you're the cool guy that was married to an anonymous guy!" Hyunjin states excitedly, "I just wanna say I admire how you were brave enough to step forward like that- by the way, what's your husband's name-"

"Wait wait slow down there," Poor Woojin, Jisung thought, the ghost looked like he was about to get a stroke or something. "I have a what now?"

Hyunjin blinked in confusion, "You have a husband... right?"

Woojin starts shaking his head rapidly, "I don't have a husband!! I was single my whole life and afterlife!!"

Normally, Jisung would take the opportunity to tease anyone when given the chance (Even though he himself doesn't have that much experience in romance either) and also since he's never heard someone so strongly insist on being a virgin like it was something to be proud of.

But he decides to ask the one thing in his mind, "Do you happen to know Chan?"

Woojin turns to him almost immediately, eyes wide and mouth gaping like a fish as if he just found the answer to everything.

"O-oh..." Woojin uttered before he slouches down in defeat, "Now I understand where the rumors came from."

Jisung did his best to connect the dots, "So you knew Chan and somehow someway, everyone around you thought you two were married?"

"Who thought who were married?" a new voice asks as from the entrance and everyone turns to see Chan standing at the doorway holding a tray of cups and a bowl of macarons.

"Nothing. The kids were just telling me some gossip at their school!!" Woojin quickly jumps to explain, waving his arm sporadically.

Chan looks at him in confusion, head tilting slightly making him look a little bit like a puppy.

"Oh? High school students are getting married now?" Chan asks as he sets down the tray, "Isn't that illegal?"

"I-" Seungmin sighs at the ridiculousness of the statement, "It's just a long story hyung, don't worry about it."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> woojin - ghost


	20. When We're 19

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> how did woojin become a ghost?

"... So basically you became a ghost ... because you sold your soul?" Seungmin echoes, not quite believing what he was hearing.

"I sold my _body_ ," Woojin corrects with a nod, "It was pretty old anyway so I thought, 'eh why not, I'm going to be dead soon anyway, I've got nothing to lose'" 

Seungmin's heard of spells and potions that can do some pretty weird things before (sneaking a small glance at Jisung who's listening to Woojin in rapt attention) but a spell that can extract one's soul from its vessel before it's even left was something Seungmin has yet to hear until now.

"How- How is that even possible?" Chan asks with a look of curiosity and that was when his own curiosity piqued.

A spell that even Chan's never heard of? That's gotta be some dark magic or banished arts.

"Ah well, I don't know how it was possible either but my friend was the one who did the spell," Woojin explains, "I'm pretty sure it was something that linked both of our souls together or something?"

"Soulmates?" Hyunjin suggests immediately and Seungmin wanted nothing more than to smack him.

So he did.

"Ow!! Minnie!!" Hyunjin whines as he rubs the spot where Seungmin hit him.

"I didn't even hit you that hard."

"It just hurts more if it's from you."

Seungmin shakes his head and looks back only to see Chan's disapproving gaze on them.

He sighs, "Sorry hyung."

"Linking your souls?" Jisung pipes up instead, still looking at Woojin, "That sounds awfully like a more complex version of a binding spell."

"Binding souls together?" Chan echoes in thought, turning his attention away from Seungmin and onto the ground as he thinks.

"Is it like ... um, what do you call this uh..." Jisung seems to be really struggling to recall something before he finally gives up and repeated pulls at Chan's sleeve. "Hyung what's the name of that spell that lets the caster conjoin an essence to their lifeline?"

"..." Chan goes silent for a while and Seungmin swears he can hear the gears turning in 2racha's heads.

Even Woojin's silent as he stares at the two curiously.

"Isn't it Bi- Bizizaen something?"

" _Bizitzaren_ _Lotura*_?" Chan says and lights up after a second, "He's right!! The spell casted on you sounds almost exactly like _Bizitzaren_ _Lotura_!"

Silence fills the room after Chan's announcement making the immortal man look around in confusion. "What? Did I say something wrong?"

"There's nothing wrong it's just ... what's Buzz it Lolita?" Hyunjin asks, "Like we know it's the soulbond spell thing, but that doesn't sound like a witch or magi spell."

That was true, most spells performed by witches sounded pleasing to the ear and usually had this flowy melody in it.

The Bizit- whatever Chan said just sounded so bad to hear and say. It wouldn't sit right with the other spells the witches had.

"Oh probably because that's a ..." Jisung stops talking suddenly, staring straight at Woojin with a tentative look, "demonic ... spell."

Seungmin raised an eyebrow as to why Jisung was being careful about this topic until he turned his attention to Chan.

The man looks like he's having the most conflicted time of his life. His face was a mixture of disbelief, surprise, and suspicion. "Is your friend .. by any chance, a demon or a demon warlock?"

"He's a demon, yeah." Woojin answers plainly like he doesn't understand the weight of the situation (He probably doesn't, like everyone in the room except Jisung and Chan)

"... Right... and is this guy trustworthy?" Jisung inquires making Chan turn to give him a look, "What? It's a valid question."

"Wait is it because he's a demon?" Woojin asks back with a confused look, "You don't like the sound of him because he's a demon?"

Seungmin could already feel goosebumps rise on his skin when the room temperature suddenly drops at Woojin's accusing tone.

"Demons are dangerous creatures, Woojin." Chan growls back, unafraid of what unknown power the ghost had, apparently.

(Maybe it was his inability to become one.)

"They're the worst of the worst, even religions and cultures know that as a fact so I don't understand why _some_ people just don't get that." Chan continues with a pointed look at Jisung at the end.

Jisung just gapes and stares at him like he just said the most offensive thing he's heard.

"For the last time! Minho isn't a bad perso-"  
"Minho was the one who helped me."

They both turn to Woojin in shock and honestly, Seungmin just about had it.

It's like the three were having their own little thing, leaving him, Hyunjin and Jeongin out of it. It gets even more frustrating when they just want to help but have no clue where to start.

"Who's Minho?" Seungmin cut in before Chan could even begin to speak.

"He's the demon friend I was talking about, now I want to know how you two know Minho?" Woojin says, focusing solely on Jisung and Chan.

Seungmin sighed in irritation as he was dismissed almost immediately after speaking up but didn't say anything else.

"He's a demon I met in the old library." Jisung explains, "I wanted to be his friend and since he was a supernatural I brought him to the cafe and Chan hyung didn't like him at all and blew a fuse on him."

"I did not blow a fuse!" Chan refuted almost immediately, "But it sure felt like it." Jisung counters and glares at the older with a hard look on his face.

"I don't want to hear any arguments!" Woojin yells at the two of them, Seungmin jumping when he realized that the ghost's voice was echoed at least 3 times in the room.

Ghosts have really weird perks apparently, Seungmin thought to himself, it's like watching a live-action poltergeist movie.

Jisung and Chan stay quiet but by the looks on their faces, Seungmin had a feeling this wasn't the first time they've been scolded.

"Seungmin, Hyunjin, I want you to take Jisung out for a moment, me and Jeongin will try and talk to Chan." Woojin orders.

Seungmin and Hyunjin nod at the same moment they hear Jisung mutter 'again?'.

"Why can't I join them?" Jeongin whines making Woojin look softly at him, a completely new look adorned on his face from the angered one before, "From what I hear you're still resting, so just sit tight and stay put."

"Come on, 'sung." Hyunjin ushers Jisung, grabbing the witch's arm, after staying quiet for so long.

They were about to walk out of the room when they spotted Changbin and Felix coming down the stairs, holding hands.

Seungmin stops walking and stares at the two before looking down at the hand.

He looks back up at their faces again and sees a blush forming on both of their faces a few moments after realizing they were caught.

"Well, this day just keeps getting more and more interesting." Hyunjin whistles before reaching over to grab Felix' free hand, "You're coming with us."

"Hyung, do you mind calming Chan hyung down? We're gonna show Felix around the district, thanks!!" Seungmin calls before walking out of the backdoor, ignoring Changbin blinking dumbly at what just happened and Felix' confused questions.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bizitzaren Lotura - The Link of Life
> 
> -> that's a big coincidence that woojin knows the same demon that they do :0


	21. TMT running through

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> chan's side

"Hyung calm down, please." Jeongin sighs as Chan still holds a firm glare on his face, still clearly upset.

"None of us here still don't really get why you hate demons so much," Changbin points out, "So maybe you should tell us your side of the story so you don't look like some racist guy with a cryptid background."

"He's not wrong." Woojin defends when Chan directs his glare at the vampire. "We can't, err, talk this out when we don't even know what your problem is."

Chan keeps quiet for a while and Jeongin is starting to worry that they'll be here forever when Chan finally speaks up in the deadest voice he's ever heard from the man in the short while he knew him.

"It was tradition," Chan starts with a sigh, "The old tribe I was with, long before districts were formed, always talked about dark monsters and great evil following them wherever they went. Taunting the souls of the pure and destroying the harmony formed by the gods."

They all kept quiet, save for their breathing. Changbin and Woojin looked so engrossed in the story but Jeongin couldn't help the feeling that he's heard this story from somewhere before.

"I met two of those _things_ back then. They weren't really that threatening, welcoming even, but it was all just a trick apparently."

"I ignored the advice of my elders and treated them, when I woke up in the morning, all of my resources were gone. My weapons, my trinkets, my souvenirs, even my fucking shoes and cloak, they robbed me of everything. I was thankful they'd at least left my clothes." Chan's hand curled into a fist for a second before he loosened his grip.

"What'd you do?" Jeongin asked, unable to help himself.

"Well, I hunted them down and killed them, of course." Chan replies as if it was nothing special, "Almost everything was equivalent to a death sentence as long as the whole tribe agrees on it." he adds when he sees everyone's disgusted looks.

"Still..." Jeongin persists.

"What if they needed those things for something?" Changbin suggests making Chan look at him in confusion, "Like they needed it for something important like maybe ... food?"

All of them could hear the heavy uncertainty of his voice but he still managed to get his point across ... hopefully.

"They could've just asked us for some?" Chan suggests, voice filled with the same amount of uncertainty like he doesn't get what Changbin's point is.

"With the way your tribe saw them, I doubt they'd treated them nicely." Woojin gently reasons, "Maybe you misunderstood them for who they are?"

"... Well, I..." Chan closes his mouth as he thinks about his words.

"What about those in Bibles and folklore?" Jeongin asks curiously but was answered by Changbin's unimpressed expression.

"Humans are terrified of things science can't explain." Changbin explains bitterly, "Example, what do humans think of us? They're terrified of us because they don't understand what we are, how we came to be and why we're here. It's pathetic really."

"You don't have to put it like that," Woojin mutters to himself, being a former human himself. "But you're not wrong." he admits with a sigh.

"Well, there whatever the cause of their behavior is doesn't matter 'cause it's already done," Chan says after a moment of pondering to himself, "I already killed them and there's no bringing them back. Moving on."

"How do you see us, hyung?" Changbin asks, making Chan turn to him with a surprised expression, "It's just that you were so insistent over Jisung staying away from this Minho guy, it's like you don't trust us to take care of ourselves even though we're fully capable of doing so ourselves."

"It's not like that." Chan says while furrowing his brows, "I do trust you guys, it's just that there are some things out there I don't want you guys to bear yet. You're too young, too fragile."

"Then you better push aside your overprotectiveness," Changbin persists, "We're adults, hyung, we can make our own decision and take care of ourselves."

"But-" Chan tried to intervene but stopped himself when Woojin placed a hand on his shoulder. "He has a point, Channie. You can't shelter everyone from harm, you of all people should know."

Chan opened his mouth to counter but closed and sighed in resignation when he realized he was outnumbered.

Jeongin tensed up when Chan opened his eyes and turned to him with a sour smile, "I'm sorry for dragging you into our mess, we have a real bad habit of making bad first impressions of our guests."

"It's fine," Jeongin finds himself saying, "I'm learning a lot of new things out here."

He turns to Woojin when he hears what sounded like a coo escape the ghost's mouth, "He's so cute, Channie you better take good care of that one."

"Alright, alright." Chan chuckles at his friend.

"How about we move to a more positive topic instead while we wait for the boys to come back," Woojin suggests after regaining his composure, "Let's get to know each other better."


	22. Get Cool? We already are!!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> they just got kicked out

"Why does life have to be so difficult?" Jisung whined as Felix pushed open the door to an unsuspecting ice cream shop for all of them to hang out in.

Jisung, Seungmin and Hyunjin just grabbed him out of the house all of a sudden without an explanation other than them getting to know each other.

"Aw dude tell me about it," Hyunjin agrees, "Like, Seungmin still won't let me copy his homework even though I'm on the brink of flunking out."

Seungmin shoots the nymph a sharp glare and a jab to his side making him yelp.

"See, does anyone see the cruelty he puts me through?" Hyunjin whines dramatically making a few heads turn to them in curiosity.

"Hyunjin, you're causing a scene." Seungmin scolds softly.

"And I want some ice cream." Jisung huffs, grabbing onto Felix's arm as they trudge to the counter.

Their day went by uneventfully, mostly filled with Hyunjin and Seungmin filling Felix and Jisung up with some gossip from their school and stuff like that. It was rather boring, to say the least, but they didn't really mind the simplicity.

(Plus, it's better to talk about normal highschool gossip than supernatural stuff out in the open, and around humans.)

They really needed some fresh air after what had happened back at the cafe, especially with the information dump the three had just experienced.

"Oh by the way!" Seungmin pipes up while bringing a spoon full of strawberry ice cream to his lips, "You never told us who this Minho guy is!"

Poor Jisung wasn't expecting the sudden question and starts choking on his cheesecake milk tea, making Seungmin grin menacingly at him.

"Come on, we're waiting~" Felix never thought he would fear the merman any more until this very moment.

"T-there's nothing you need to know about him!" Jisung sputters, pulling out a tissue from the dispenser beside Hyunjin, who's staring at him owlishly while sipping from his straw. "He's a demon that I met in the library I regular in and we just kinda ... got along? Chan hyung doesn't like him though as you heard."

"So you dig hot, dangerous guys?" Hyunjin suddenly says making Jisung glare at him.

"I'm gonna turn you into a _frog_ -"  
"Hey, don't threaten him." Seungmin cut in with his own signature glare.

Jisung rolls his eyes at the obvious bias-ed conversation and takes a bite from his cheesecake while Hyunjin triumphantly gleams at him.

Thankfully for Jisung, the conversation didn't continue on any further (Good thing too, since it's a really risky subject with where they're at)

It started getting a little late and the number of people in the ice cream shop was slowly decreasing, the loud chatter of the bright shop decreasing along with it.

They were in the middle of talking about when and where they should hang out next time to relax from 'academic stress' when they were suddenly approached by a lady who was looking at them weirdly.

They all went quiet and stared at the lady curiously, she was staring at them with eyes full of judgment and it was starting to become uncomfortable for the four teenagers.

"Umm, do you need something?" Seungmin asked after a few moments and was staring back at her with eyes filled with the same amount of judgment. The other three sharply inhales, thinking they might have to hold the merman back before he strikes at the rude woman.

"I do hope you boys realize how late it is getting," She starts sassily while pointing one painted cuticle at the clock that was hung behind the counter of the shop, "I'd really suggest you boys get going unless you want to be taken by the sentries."

"Taken? Why?" Felix blurts out in confusion, not being able to help himself at the randomness of this woman.

"Oh, you haven't heard?" The woman says sarcastically before bringing out her phone, tapping it a few times before showing them a news headline. "It's the newest implemented rule."

Felix, having sat nearest to her phone, squints at the screen to see what she wanted to show them. "New Curfew for Teenagers 18 and below ... sundown?" Felix summarizes before looking out the window, making three other heads turn to it on instinct.

It had indeed gotten darker, the sun had to be at the horizon right now, filling the street with a hazy orange glow. Jisung and Hyunjin look up at the sky and realize that some stars are starting to shine.

They all look back at the lady who is still staring at them with half-lidded and tired eyes while crossing her arms.

It was really only then that they realize the pin clipped onto her polo, the words 'Manager' printed on it in fancy gold font.

The woman sighs, "I'm afraid I have to kick you boys out before I get the shop in trouble, the Mrs would fire me on sight if I even think about disobeying the sentries' laws."

"Mrs?-" Felix goes to ask but is promptly cut off by his own yelp as Jisung jabs his rib, "Stop questioning, if I get banned from my favorite ice cream shop, I'm gonna kill you." he whispers into Felix' ear before bowing apologetically at the manager while pushing Felix so he can get out.

"We're so sorry ma'am, we'll be going now." Hyunjin apologizes as well as he pushes Seungmin over to get out of his seat, making his best friend glare at him.

The four stumble out of the ice cream shop with hurried apologies to the shop manager. They failed to notice the boss of the shop standing behind the glass door with her arms crossed and staring at them suspiciously.

They continue their conversation as they walk back to the cafe, hands still curled gingerly around their drinks and desserts when Hyunjin suddenly recalls something and nudges at Seungmin's side.

"What is it, Hwang?" Seungmin asks with an eyebrow raised as he turns to the taller male.

"Umm..."  
"What?"  
"We forgot to bring Yangyang and Haechan their orders."   
"... Fuck"


	23. Fine, You Can Stay

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> they finally get back together

It was rare for Chan to get a decent amount of sleep.

His dreams were usually plagued with memories best forgotten and sometimes his insomnia and paranoia took up too much room in his head to give him some peace and quiet.

When he does get some sleep, however, he sleeps like the dead. (Changbin's words, not his)

So he doesn't really understand why some simple rhythmic taps coming from beside his left ear was enough to rouse him from his sleep.

He grumbles tiredly before opening his heavy eyelids.

The first sight he's registering is Jisung sitting next to his face with an open sketchbook in hand. It takes him a while to register that the noise he's been hearing was Jisung tapping his pen on his sketchbook while looking bored out of his mind.

That's when the confusion comes flooding in and messing up his head.

What the hell was Jisung doing in his room at this ungodly hour?

Jisung finally takes notice that he was finally awake and stops tapping his pen, "Good morning, hyung."

"G-good morning ... what's going on?" Chan asks, still not getting up from his sleeping position.

The atmosphere was very quiet around them without the tapping sounds. He wasn't sure if it was meant to be peaceful or tense.

"Well, Seungmin and the others kinda locked us in here for us to makeup or something like that." Jisung explains softly, not looking at Chan in the eyes during it.

"Oh." was all Chan could say after that making Jisung snort. "Well, that sucks-"

"It does actually-" "-especially when you always act like you have ADHD."

"I-" Jisung takes in a sharp breathe while Chan grins teasingly at him, "That's so mean, hyung."

"But true."

Chan cries out when Jisung proceeds to smack him continuously with a pillow.

After a few more minutes of play fighting, both of them are now in bed panting heavily with large smiles on their faces.

"So I've been thinking," Chan speaks up suddenly while he's lying face up at the ceiling, "maybe I should give your boyfriend a chance."

"... Yeah?" Jisung says, blatantly ignoring the name Chan used to call Minho.

"Yeah." Chan chuckles while turning to look at the witch, "I jumped the gun too quickly back there, I'm sorry."

There they were. Those two simple words that both were too stubborn to say. It was funny how everything could've been so easily fixed if they had said those two words sooner.

"I'm sorry too, hyung," Jisung mutters before laying down next to the immortal, "for disregarding your feelings and intentions. I know you were just trying to protect us."

They didn't really make up that much yet, but they were getting there. They weren't truly mad at each other to begin with but at least now they can show their affection without fear or anger.

"Truce?"  
"Truce."

Both boys smiled at each other, finally feeling the weights on their shoulders being lifted off.

It felt great and relieving like they were finally becoming whole again.

"It's about time you two made up." a voice says suddenly making both of them look up to see someone leaning against the now open door.

"Shut up, this was a stupid plan to begin with." Jisung sneers but smiles at the vampire.

"But it worked," Changbin retorts with a grin on his face, "you have both earned your right to return to the outside world."

"No thanks." Jisung and Chan said immediately at the same time and laid back down. "The outside world sucks, this place is so much better." Chan explains as he wraps an arm around Jisung's waist and cuddles into his side.

"Well that's too bad," Seungmin snorts, appearing next to Changbin suddenly, "because if we're suffering out here, you're suffering with us. Now get up and out."

The two in bed whined tiredly and refused to listen to the merman's orders, which led to them being dragged out of the room by the merman, vampire, nymph, shapeshifter, ghost, and fairy.  
  


"Why?" Jisung whined as he's sitting on the couch in their living room with his head resting on Felix' shoulder.

"Well, love," a new voice speaks up making Jisung and Chan perk up at the sound, "that's just how the world works."

Jisung snaps his head to the side at the feeling of fingers running through his hair, "M-Minho?"

The demon grins at him, "The one and only."

"How-" "Woojin called me here to help them fix your issues." Minho explains promptly before sitting down on the couch next to the witch.

"Help fix our issues?" Chan echoes after being quiet for a long period of time, "Explain."

"Well-"  
"It was his plan to lock you up in a room to talk it out." Felix says simply making heads turn to him, "What?"

Chan looks like he was to comment but just sighs and leans his head against Changbin's shoulders, "Fine, fine, I won't judge."

"Oh?" Minho hums before turning to Jisung, "You actually did manage to make him change his beliefs."

"Don't push your luck," Chan pipes up but doesn't have any malice in his voice anymore, which is an improvement in everyone's book. "but yes, I guess I'm fine with you staying here now."

"Nice," Minho smirks but sheepishly laughs when Woojin gives him a look, "Thank you, Chan."

"Don't mention it ... literally. Literally do not mention it or I'm changing my mind."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :'')))))


	24. We're all on this Hellevator together

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> nothing's easy in their lives

The next day, it's like life has been restored to the cafe.

Chan was in front of the counter with a bright smile on his face as he took customer's orders with Jisung and Changbin working hard on making them behind him, hands working swiftly as they do their magic efficiently.

(Not literal magic though, but it is literal during the night.)

Seungmin, Hyunjin, Felix and Jeongin are also there, serving orders left and right without much trouble.

Seungmin and Hyunjin didn't have to help but they insisted on helping out as some form of sideline since it was their last stay at the cafe before they had to return to their dorms.

Jeongin wasn't too happy about his two friends leaving him so he decided to help too to spend as much time with them.

Minho was also there too, standing near the cafe entrance to greet and wave off customers. He also gained himself quite the attention of being a dancer and performer in his part-time, so that helped keep the customers coming.

(Chan was happy for the extra help but he wasn't about to announce that to the celebrity demon.)

The day was tiring but fun for the gang, it was like their unofficial bonding moment after the long saga of misunderstandings and unfortunate events.

"It's nice to see your cafe coming back to life," Soonyoung says as he gingerly accepts his drink from Felix, pointy elf ears hidden by some magic, "The amount of gloom here was starting to get to me."

"Sorry about that," Felix chuckles for a while before turning to the small boy in front of him, "Is this Jihoon hyung?"

"Yes!!" Soonyoung grins proudly, reaching a hand forward to hold his boyfriend's hand, "Jihoonie, this is the cute boy I met a while back, Felix, this is my cute boyfriend."

Jihoon makes a soft grumble under his breath as he pulls his hand out of Soonyoung's grip, drawing out a whine from the elf, to take a small sip of his black Americano. The short male barely said anything to both Felix and Soonyoung since Felix came to their side. 

Soonyoung lets out a chuckle at his boyfriend's antics making Felix smile as well.

On the other side of the cafe, Seungmin and Hyunjin were having their own conversation with a group of teenagers their age.

"I'm still upset about the fact that you actually forgot to give us our orders," Haechan says as he takes a sip from his strawberry milkshake.

"After offering too." he adds with a pointed look towards Hyunjin, making the said male look away awkwardly, pretending to tend to a neighboring customer.

"Sorry, some things came up." Seungmin apologized but it was obvious he wasn't really apologetic at all.

"I didn't do anything to deserve such disrespect," Yangyang muttered under his breath making Seungmin turn to him with a hard stare. "I'm not apologizing."

Seungmin rolls his eyes, "Just be glad we're covering your broke asses."

Haechan scoffs, "God bless Mr. Bang, not you two losers."

Seungmin rolls his eyes before grabbing onto Hyunjin and leaving their two friends alone to continue serving other customers.

The day went by fairly quickly yet it was very tiresome for everyone.

By the time it was closing time, they were all plopped onto random parts of the 3racha living room, either coddling one another or just lying comfortably across one another.

Notable ones were probably Changbin and Felix were scrolling through their phones while shamelessly laying on top of one another on a solo couch, Minho pulling Jisung between his legs while the younger witch was reading the series about magics (finally able to advance after Minho returned the book) on the ground.

Seungmin and Hyunjin wrapping their limbs together on the left side of the couch with Jeongin sitting in between them. Woojin and Chan stood by one another as they leaned against the back of the couch to not disturb the trio on it, holding hands and smiling at one another as they did, happy that they're finally back together.

It was finally back to the peaceful kind of quiet the cafe was before Felix arrived, and while there were new faces amongst them, they wouldn't have it any other way.

They felt as complete as ever and it was like nothing was going to go wrong.

Well, that was until Changbin pressed on a news report that showed up on his newsfeed while he was lazily scrolling.

The news reporter started talking almost immediately in a monotonous voice making heads turn to the source in an irritated sense but Changbin still didn't stop the video or lower the volume.

"This just in. There's been another facility breach in the 3rd District."

At those words, almost everyone in the room perks up as they stare at Changbin in surprise and interest. District 3 was the biggest in scale between the 10 districts in their region, there was bound to be more supernatural running about.

"Being the second security breach and holding the largest number of creatures, sentries are now ordered to do a mandatory house to house check-up for any suspicious activity and or objects hidden." the reporter continues, "Citizens are advised to avoid resistance until the procedures are finished. Punishments will be given to those who fail to follow."

By now, everyone is on high alert and on the edge of freaking out. The ones who look most hysterical were Seungmin, Hyunjin and Changbin, having their own homes outside of the cafe.

"S-sorry, hyung but we-we-" Hyunjin couldn't finish his sentence right, his arms shaking every so often as he moved away from Jeongin. Chan didn't let the boy finish and just nodded his head, giving them his permission with a soft 'be careful'.

The trio left almost immediately without being told twice, leaving the remaining people in the room to wonder in worry for everyone's safety.

Felix could feel his heart strain when the vampire slithered out of his arms but said nothing since he feared for his safety more than his stupid heart.

Jisung sighs, "This is crazy."

Chan turns to Minho and Woojin in confusion, "Aren't you two going to be going too?"

Both individuals shrugged and gave unconcerned excuses ("I'm a ghost, I don't have a home to stay in." "I don't really have anything suspicious hidden in my house, only my evil kittens.")

Jeongin sighs to himself and just watches as Chan tells them to spread the word to supernaturals in the area that they won't be opening for the night until the issue dies down and help them clear out the back storage room of suspicious ingredients.

This is going to be a very messy week.


	25. Don't go MIA

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> find.

'This sucks.' Minho thought to himself as he woke up early in the morning to the sun burning his eyes.

'This really sucks.' Minho thought as his coffee machine churned noisily while making his morning Americano, hands busy tapping away on his phone as he announces to his dance crew that he's canceling their practice later due to personal reasons.

'This really, really sucks.' Minho thought as he took a tentative sip from his still hot coffee, releasing a sigh and leaning back against his seat as he blankly stared ahead.

'Just as I thought,'

"Today is going to be really boring." He said out loud to no one in particular.

It hasn't even been a whole day and he was already bored. This wasn't a problem in the past before, he was used to his routine, but after meeting the people at the cafe, after meeting _Jisung_ , there was just some excitement there that changed everything.

It hasn't even been a whole day and the effects they had on him were already apparent. They filled that hole in his heart in a way no other human ever had before.

'But what was so special about them?' Minho thought as he threw open his closet doors, pulling out random articles of clothing as he tried to find something to wear.

Were they special because they were the first supernaturals he's interacted with in so long?

It doesn't seem likely seeing as he hadn't felt that same tug when he spoke with the witches in the library he met Jisung.

Minho paused from putting on his sneakers. _Jisung_... what was so special about that witch that made him different from the rest?

All of these confusing questions were starting to irritate him and as much of a bad timing it was to ask these questions to them, it was starting to make him restless. He can't go on like this.

So he exits his house and makes his way to the cafe with a single mission in mind.

The cafe wasn't even that far from where he lived in his cramped little apartment (sure he was rich, but he preferred to keep his medieval wealth a secret so he wouldn't be bothered by nosy bystanders, a paparazzi was the last thing he wanted to have on his back), so the walk there was relatively short.

He'd always known of the cafe's existence. Long before he met Jisung.

He just never made himself known to them- he didn't need to. He was satisfied with this life, where no one knew who and what he was, what he did.

Only, that mission never really fulfilled as he slowly became aware of an unsettling feeling in his gut that he realized that something wasn't right.

On one hand, if Minho had been paying attention to the whispers of the humans around him as he made his way to the cafe, he'd be feeling less shocked and surprised by what he would find.

He furrows his eyebrows in confusion at a large crowd in front of him, a large crowd that seemed to be circling his destination. He frowns at the obstacle in his path and grumbles as he made his way through the crowd of people, softly pushing people out of his way to figure out what's the fuss all about.

To his shock and horror, an all too familiar yellow and black tape blocked his path, surrounding the building he was supposed to enter to meet his friends.

But now before him was a mess of what was once the cafe front the supernaturals had set up as their home.

"What happened?" Minho asked the man standing next to him, who divulged him enough to explain.

_"Apparently, someone sent a tip to the sentries about a group of supernaturals living inside the cafe. No one really knows who sent the tip but what happened next was that the sentries came for an investigation when the whole building exploded. They're still trying to find any survivors."_

Minho's eyes gradually grew wide at the man's explanation before looking back at the cafe with even more horror. "Oh."

A woman beside the man scoffed, "I doubt they'd survive that fire, supernatural or not. Entire place is scorched."

Minho slowly shakes his head as he walks back into the crowd as the woman jumps straight into a rant about how terrible the supernatural creatures are. A stain to their world.

Minho took a deep breath before he could start hyperventilating. 'Think Minho, be rational about this.'

Chan. Felix. Jeongin. _Jisung_.

They were the only people in the cafe since the news came around. They can't be gone, it wasn't possible.

For one thing, Chan was immortal. And for the brief moment he had to gotten to know that man, he knows for sure there was no way he was going to get the kids killed, not if he could help it.

Another thing to note was that this fire or 'explosion' can't have been an accident, especially when the closest thing they had to fire elemental was a hereditary potion witch.

Potion witches were a funny bunch too. They're mostly used as support classes back in Minho's time, disguised as healers and doctors and their magic medication, never one for an actual fight.

The fire could've been a diversion. A distraction to keep the sentries busy as they fled, fake their own deaths maybe. He wouldn't push it past Chan to be a little more cautious than actually necessary.

Minho narrowed his eyes as he looked around.

If they really were alive, then where are they? If the explosion was caused just recently, then they couldn't have gotten that far, especially not when their faces are most likely everywhere.

Minho gritted his teeth as he marched away from the now dispersing crowd, trying to find a quiet and empty place where he can use his powers to find his friends.

Rounding a corner into a dark and empty alleyway, Minho made sure he wasn't being watched or followed and sneakily ducked into the dirty path.

He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, focusing all his energy and strength into its task. He opened his eyes again, dark brown orbs trading into a black and crimson hue of sharp dragon-like eyes. He didn't need a mirror to know a black tint started to surround his eyes on his face as well.

He tried to remember Jisung's magic, grasp its last known whereabouts and linings but his frown deepened when he realized he couldn't sense a single trace of the squirrel's magic.

' _Fuck, there goes that idea._ ' Minho let an unconscious growl of frustration and glared at the ground, accidentally causing a fire to erupt on the ground.

He huffed and pressed his palm against his face as he stomped the fire out, trying to think of another way to track down the four supernaturals.

'The others.' Minho thought, surely one of them would have an idea of where they were.

Changbin was the most likely candidate. From what he's heard from the others, the vampire knows the missing people best.

But where the hell was he too? Minho would have to use his magic again to track down the creature of the night, but it should be easier for him to do so now.

Being a traditional vampire, Changbin had stronger attributes than halfies do, not just in strength but also in potence and dark essence.

Channeling his magic again, he smiled when he managed to catch a lingering sliver of the vampire's dark energy.

(Dark energy was far easier to catch for a demon, especially since Changbin is a local around these streets, it was no surprise to catch his dark energy even without him wandering around for a while.)

Minho smiled, a trail finally showing itself to Changbin's whereabouts. It was just in time when he heard the familiar marching of heavily armored feet.

"Time for a quick escape." Minho muttered to himself as he snuck a peek and saw that the shadows of the sentries were starting to get bigger and bigger as he zeroed in on his location.

Someone must've seen or heard him in here for them to find him.

With a single wave of his hand, he rose from the ground and shot into the sky, trusting his magic to take him where he needed to be.

The sentries saw nothing but dust settling back down on the ground as they rounded the corner.


	26. They're the Scene Stealers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> hide

"Jisung-ah, where do you wanna keep your glass potion bottles?" Chan asked as he held up two beakers for reference to the witch.

"Uhh, can we keep them in the spare cabinet in the storage room, hyung?" Jisung asked, to which Chan nods and heads on to move the bottles with Jeongin's help.

"Ah before you go, do you think we can move these to the storage too?" Felix calls and holds up small crimson pouches in one hand for them to see, "I think they're powdered ingredients of some flowers, they kind of look like the food dye in the storage room."

"Most of my ingredients actually consist of food additives and spices anyways," Jisung offers, "We can bunk them in the storage room, I'll just get some more for myself when the whole thing blows over."

"That sounds like a solid idea."

"I guess those crushed flowers could be passed off food dye, we'll just have to make sure none of the sentries get a whiff of them." Chan hums in agreement.

"And make sure we don't mix them up with our _actual_ dyes," Jisung adds, "I don't think crushed fiddlewoods would taste good for our customers."

"Pixies love that stuff though."

"We rarely get pixie customers so that's a bit of a shot in the dark."

"I guess."

Their idle mumbling was promptly cut off by a yelp and something fragile crashing onto the ground.

All eyes turned to Jeongin, who was now on the floor with some shards of glass surrounding him and a small cut on his arm.

"Dear Diablo, are you ok?!!" Jisung cursed as Chan and he rushed over to the shapeshifter's side, mindful of the pointy shards around the boy.

"Sorry!" Jeongin said instead, "I stepped on something, I wasn't looking at where I was stepping, I don't know what I stepped on-"

"Innie, calm down, we're not mad." Chan explained, not even looking at Jisung to make sure the witch isn't mad. He knew Jisung wasn't that kind of person.

"You actually helped out, storage wise," Jisung offered instead, "We now have more space now that we're short on bottles." He smiled reassuringly.

The four continue their job of clearing out any suspicious items. Potion ingredients are shoved behind the shelves of powdered ingredients in the storage room, spellbooks and magic journals are hidden under loose floorboards and sealed with inconspicuous carpets.

"Hey Ji, can I ask you a question?" Felix suddenly asks as he carries a large box of some of Chan's antique collections.

"Shoot." Jisung hums as he rearranges his cabinets so they don't look suspiciously empty.

" _Where did Changbin hyung go? Why isn't he helping us here?_ " Felix asks, suddenly switching back to his mother tongue. The sudden switch caught Jisung off guard, making him stop mid-action of arranging his normal storybooks.

Jisung was about to open his mouth to answer but closes it and stares at the wall for a few moments as Felix' question sinks in. Felix couldn't tell if he was considering his next words or if he was trying to see if he trusted Felix with this information.

Frankly, Felix didn't feel offended in the slightest. He may not be as new as Minho but he was still new to their little coven. New to the family they had built in the past few years.

" _Well,_ " Jisung starts after a few minutes of silence, his arms started moving again as he continued to fix his desk. Felix noted his fingers lingering over a portrait of him, Chan and Changbin together a little too long and frowns.

" _You don't have to tell me if you don't want to,_ " Felix interrupts, " _I'm sorry for asking-_ "

"It's fine," Jisung says in Korean and turns to him with soft eyes, "It's not like it's that big of a secret."

Felix stays quiet, not wanting to disrupt whatever emotion Jisung was feeling right now.

He knows they're in a hurry but he just can't help but be curious about the mysterious entity that was Seo Changbin.

It hurt him that Changbin did his best to make Felix feel at home and yet he knew next to nothing about the dark vampire other than his shifty family relations. He wanted to change that.

"Well, Changbin hyung goes back home at least once a month to restock on his blood," Jisung starts, "He absolutely despises his family so it burdens him to go back there to see them just to get some blood for him."

"Why does he hate them so much?" Felix asks, unable to help his curiosity. "Did they have a fight?"

"I.. Yea, he hates them a lot because of a fight, if you want to know the details just ask him yourself. I think he can give you the best answer. Just.. Sometimes, blood ties aren't the best thing to depend on to link a family together." came Jisung's soft reply

Felix purses his lips in thought, he realized that Jisung didn't know that he had already asked Seungmin and Hyunjin about their pasts before and frankly, he wanted to keep it that way so he doesn't freak them out. So he had to choose his next words carefully so he doesn't accidentally out himself.

"You .. sound like you know a lot about what Changbin hyung is going through... Are you ok?" Felix tries but slowly regrets opening his mouth when Jisung doesn't reply, only quietly continuing his work.

The silence was suffocating but Felix manned up and dealt with it in silence. It was his fault for prying too much.

"It's getting late," Chan announces as he stares out the window, and true to his words, the sun was already setting. "I think we should just continue this tomorrow morning, maybe the other's will be here to help too."

The other three in the room nod and all individually stretch their worn-out limbs, tired from a whole day of doing nothing but packing, hiding and rearranging.

They were all about to head off to bed when a series of loud knocking was suddenly heard coming from downstairs.

"This is the Court Ministry checking in." A voice boomed from downstairs, voice overpowering through the cafe despite being outside, "You have the right to submit and let us search through your area."

All of them tense up at the announcement and Chan turns to see the three kids looking at him in alarm.

' _I don't want to go back there._ ' Felix thought to himself as he felt bile and panic rise up, burning his throat, ' _Not when I already tasted what freedom is like._ '

He flinches when a hand suddenly envelopes his and he looks at the owner in surprise. Jisung isn't looking at him though, his eyes were purely focused on Chan and they had this fire in them that Felix can't seem to describe.

And just like what he saw with Seungmin and Hyunjin, Chan nods like he understood a secret message in Jisung's look and turn his heel on them and calmly stride downstairs towards danger.

"Chan-" Jeongin starts as he reaches out to the retreating immortal but Jisung grabs his outstretched arm and shakes his head.

"Trust us." Jisung says softly to both of them, squeezing Felix' arm for a brief second before pulling them back.


	27. Stop panicking

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> a little visit to the witch library

Jisung wouldn't consider himself to be one who would be worried easily.

But forgive him for panicking when everything he knew was on the brink of danger.

"Please, Chan hyung? I just wanna make sure they're safe or at least aware of what's going on?" Jisung pleads to Chan the following morning with his best puppy eyes look yet.

There were little updates on what had happened to the others after the news but they were all sure that they were doing their best to keep safe and warn any other supernaturals they know.

"Ok Jisung, just promise me that you'll be extra careful, ok?" Chan softens his gaze as he looks at the young witch, giving him a soft head pat. 

"Of course, hyung." Jisung nods and rushes downstairs and to the door only to be stopped by Felix.

"Where are you going?" the fairy asks him with a worried expression.

"To the library where my friends work in." came Jisung's short explanation as he pushes the door open, he stops shortly after when Felix reaches a hand over his arm.

"I'm coming with you." he whispers faintly to the witch.

Jisung furrows his brows and shoots a look upstairs at where Chan was and he sees Felix do the same.

"Channie hyung! Can I go with Jisung to the library?!" Felix shouts up the stairs without warning making Jisung jump in surprise.

They could faintly hear Chan's motherly 'Be careful!' come in reply and with that, they walked out the door hand in hand.

The walk was peaceful and quiet, quite contrary to the anxiety the two were feeling inside.

"Say, Jisung?" Felix said out of the blue, "Can I ask you a question?"

"You just did." Jisung giggled when Felix gave him an unimpressed look, "I'm kidding, what is it?"

"How did you meet your friends at the library? What are their names again?"

"Oh, Renjun, Kun hyung and Minho hyung?" Jisung hummed as he faced ahead, thinking of how to respond. "I don't exactly remember how I met Renjun and Kun hyung, it's been so long. I remember I met them by accident and I just met Minho hyung recently, maybe around last month."

Felix stayed quiet as he stared at Jisung with unblinking eyes, very curious about what Jisung had to say for some reason. His compliant silence made Jisung continue his story.

"I met Renjun first, I was just wandering around the street when I bumped into him and his boy- err, friends. Anyways, we shook hands and he just stared at me and said 'You're a spell manic bookworm too, aren't you?', which, creepy, but yea he's not wrong."

Jisung just shrugs, "After that, one thing led to another and he introduced me to his other friends and by extension, he introduced me to Kun hyung, who taught me some things Chan hyung didn't."

"They sound like nice people." Felix comments with a soft smile, seemingly happy to know that there are people outside the cafe looking after his birthday twin. Jisung appreciates the thought.

(They found out just recently that they were born just one day apart and they still can't get over that fact.)

"Can you tell me about how you met Minho hyung?" Felix asks to keep the conversation going, 

Jisung scratched the back of his head awkwardly, not because of Felix' straightforward question but more so because he wasn't sure _how_ to explain their meeting.

He started by explaining why he went to the library, confessing how confused and angry he felt when he had met Minho in the library holding his book, a light blush appearing on his cheeks when he realized how stupid it sounded.

"He was being all brave too!" A new voice added out of nowhere making Felix and Jisung jump and yelp in surprise to see Minho walking behind them with a grin on his face, "It was so cute when he thought he could fight me. Oh! And his face when he realized he couldn't!"

Jisung flushed at the older's taunt and puffed out his cheeks into a pout, "Don't make fun of me like that!"

Felix stared curiously as the two begin to banter, more so of Jisung denying any of Minho's teasing. To any other passerby, it would've looked like two best friends being best friends but Felix wasn't that oblivious, he could see the hint of love in their actions and eyes.

He was no expert on the subject of love, but he might as well be blind if it wasn't what he was seeing before him.

It wasn't long after that they had reached the library and by then, Minho had already managed to squish Jisung's cheeks about 5 times along the way.

The annoying sound of the door chimes ringing fills the air as the three make their way inside the old cozy library and is greeted with 2 owlish eyes caring stacks of books.

"Ah, Han Jisung? You're still alive?" The shorter one says in mock surprise but yelps when the man beside him smacks him with a thick book with a scold, "Renjun!"

"What?-" "Are you guys moving?" Jisung asks instead as he stares at the books and the partially empty bookshelves inside the library, "So you guys heard the news?"

Renjun scoffs with a sassy eye roll as he puts down the stack of books on a desk near the door. "We're not that outdated from modern technology."

"What Renjun means is," Kun corrects with a glare sent to the younger potion maker, "Yes, we heard the news, we're hiding our special books about magecraft in the attic until after things die down a bit."

Felix frowns a bit at that statement. So much for his plan on finding a book about the faes.

"Why? It's not like you can't cast up a spell to make them forget about this place." Minho counters making Renjun narrow his eyes at him.

"We're not that powerful, and it gets pretty annoying to do that every time so no, it's a waste of energy. Besides, we're also hiding our clients' cards and information as well so they don't get caught up in some hit list they most likely have." Renjun explains.

"Speaking of clients," Kun puts down his stack of books to give Jisung a worried look, "Jisung ah, I think you should hide your potion bottles and ingredients somewhere they won't find it. Who knows where they'll look so I'd keep them somewhere no one would ever look."

Jisung nods in understanding at the Chinese witch's warning making Kun smile, "Be careful out there, ok? Thank you for warning us."

"Even if we already knew about it." Renjun adds quietly to himself as he picks up the stack again, fleeing to the attic before he can get a lecture from Kun about manners and etiquette again.

"That boy I swear." Kun sighs, more to himself than the three in his room making the three laugh. "You three better get going too, I would invite you in for some tea but we're currently short-handed."

"We can help!" Felix volunteered and the two were quick to nod in agreement but Kun shook his head adamantly.

"Absolutely not, that'd be terrible hospitality from a host-"

"But incredibly useful!" Renjun butted in making Kun throw a hardbound book in the shorter Chinese's direction. "Get back to work, Renjun!"

"I'll just give you boys some of my herbal tea to soothe your nerves and send you on your way, how about that?" Kun suggested but left to grab the packs of tea before any of them could protest.

"Here, I brewed these myself, they're incredibly useful for soothing nerves and I mixed some sleeping powder into them so you can get some easy rest." Kun explained shortly and handed each a large purple bag filled with a boxed item.

"I call them Lavender Moon since they're basically an enhanced form of lavenders." Kun adds with a small giggle.

"Thank you so much!" Jisung and Felix said in sync and bowed in respect and gratitude while Minho just nodded in appreciation.

"Now, go on! Take care!" Kun waved as the three left the library, leaving as quickly as they had arrived.

Once the three were out of sight, Kun sighed and closed the door. He huffed out a tired sigh and turned to find Renjun.

"Renjun, we're going to have a little talk about your manners."  
"But ge-"  
"No buts!!"


	28. Beware, Grrr!!!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> fight.

"What the fuck is all of this about?!!" Changbin growled out in disbelief.

He honestly couldn't believe his family right now (should he even consider them as his family?)

Changbin had been staying over with his family for a few days now by their orders. He'd honestly be anywhere but there right now but it's hard not to follow when all of them are glaring down at him with disappointing, not like it was anything new anyways but something about his sister's sadistic smirk convinced him something was up.

But now, first thing in the morning when Changbin came out of his personal bedroom, he was greeted with nothing but piles of carton boxes littered everywhere in the halls, all of the family antiques meticulously kept in them.

"What does it look like, you stupid fledgling?" his mother hisses, fangs blaring out in their full deadly glory, "We're moving."

"Why?"

"Don't talk back to your mother! The humans are getting nosier by the second and the last thing we want is exposure to the public." his mother rolls her eyes before turning her attention back to the newspaper in her hands.

"It's not like a human's dared approach us before!" Changbin argues, refusing to give up everything he's built thus far.

He knew what his family wanted, they wanted to move back into Transylvania, a place where most vampire families and heirs flock to when things start becoming dangerous in their nests. If he were to return to Transylvania, it would mean that he'd have to leave behind his friends at the cafe (and as much as he detests Seungmin's bullying and Jisung's whining, he'd miss them all too much).

"I'm not moving, not with you monsters at least," Changbin states, steely eyes meeting his mother's narrowed ones.

"Why do you always give me a headache, Changbin, why can't you be like your sister and just behave and follow orders!!" His mother shouts in anger, fists clenching around the newspaper in her hands, crumpling the paper, "What is it in this district that impels you to stay?! Is it that smelly old cafe you always go back to instead of your own home?! They're no good for you and you-"

"You're wrong!!" Changbin yells back, "They're more of a family than you'll ever become, they mean more to me and they don't give me bullshit every day like you do!"

A loud smack echoes throughout the room and has Changbin reeling back at what had just happened. Bringing a hand up to his stinging cheek, he flinches back at the contact before turning to his now fuming mother in shock.

"Get out of my sight and start packing." his mother says softly, yet there's a dangerous tilt to it.

Changbin rarely gets scared, but when it comes to his mother, a matured ancient pure-blooded vampire, the woman who claims to know him inside out, he's nothing more than a pile of dust on the ground for her to sweep and throw out.

He doesn't move from his spot, not even when his mother slithers out of the room, he clenches his teeth when he feels his body trembling. His eyes turn to the now crumpled newspaper she was holding, left forgotten on the ground for Changbin to see.

Curiosity gets the better of him when he sees a woman smiling almost sinisterly at the front page, hand-holding some sort of certificate which she held proudly. It's what's written in the headlines that pull out the mangled sob from his throat.

 ** _'Woman Honored for Tip of Supernaturals Hiding in A Cafe'_**

Changbin doesn't notice how long he's standing there as he stares down at the newspaper in disbelief.

They had to be safe right? Gods, he hoped they were but that doesn't stop the guilt from clenching around his throat. He should've been there with them, shouldn't have left them for this sorry excuse of a family of his.

"Aw, what's wrong little brother?" a voice teases from the shadows behind Changbin and he clenches his fists just at the sound of _her_ voice. The girl giggles when she gets no verbal response. Changbin knows just how much she enjoys bullying him.

"Oh, 'Binnie, some things just never change. You're still as soft-hearted as ever." Soojin hums as she circles around Changbin as if he was prey.

"What do you want?" Changbin huffs, still not meeting her sister's gaze. "Don't you have to go through the millions of clothes from your wardrobe."

"Oh? Does this mean you're moving with us?" his sister lets out a dramatic gasp, "That's a surprise, what about your little lambs at the cafe? Did something happen with them?"

"That's none of your conce-"

"Oh my, are they the reason why the baby is crying?" Soojin cuts, reaching out a hand to caress Changbin's cheek, goosebumps rising from the younger vampire's back at the action.

His sister's hand felt disgustingly cold and he wasn't afraid to show how disgusted he was by jerking his head away from his sister and taking a few steps away, "Don't touch me."

Soojin coos but doesn't step any closer, cat-like eyes staring at Changbin in amusement, "Oh but dear brother, you let that little fairy boy hold you oh so closely, why not your own sister?"

Changbin's eyes widen while his arms go rigid which doesn't go unnoticed by his sister as her smirk widens

"Oh, oh, he can't be anyone of importance, can he?"

_How does she know- How does she know about Felix-_

"Cat got your tongue, brother?" his sister giggles, "It's not that hard to know about your little lamb, his scent was all over you even until now, did you know that? He was so cute too! All sunshine and roses. Say, do you mind bringing him home one day so I can get a taste of him-"

Soojin screeched loudly when Changbin pounced at her, his vampiric claws outstretched and clawing at her face at an inhuman speed, incomprehensible growls pouring out of Changbin's lips.

Soojin's eyes turned to a dangerous shade of red as she fought back, her own claws extending as she clawed at her younger brother, fangs baring threateningly. Soojin managed to kick Changbin back a bit but the younger vampire grabbed onto her leg before she could get away, pulling her down to the ground with him.

The two spun around at a speed that would've been very difficult to follow for a normal person, both using their heightened senses and abilities to their full potential as they chased and attacked each other around the room, ripping paintings and curtains and knocking over expensive and antique vases and tables.

Changbin managed to land a few scratches on her cheek and neck while she managed to get a bite or two on his forearm, blood flowing out of both of their wounds as they panted.

They both sported two heavy burns from when they accidentally ripped open one of the window curtains that let the bright sunlight flow through its holes, yet neither seemed to minded as they were both watching the other's curtains.

"You've gotten stronger, baby brother." Soojin smirks as she wipes the blood dripping down the side of her mouth, "But not strong enough."

Changbin managed to duck down just in time as she lunged at where his head had just been and turned around quickly to claw at her leg, relishing in her howling in pain.

"And you're still careless as ever." Changbin huffed back, smirking slightly when her sister glared at her.

"I'm going to kill you!" She screeched out as she lunged again, this time successfully landing on Changbin and pushing them both right into the sunlight, bathing both of them in the bright light.

Both pure-bloods cried out as smoke started to rise from their body, their skin burning and filling the air with the smell of burning flesh.

Changbin reached out desperately for anything to pull him out of his sister's clutch as she held him down, using him to shield most of her body from the sun, "What the fuck are you doing?!! You're going to get us both killed!!"

"Then so be it!!" Soojin cackled insanely, her death grip on Changbin not even faltering, even when blood started to draw on her arms.

Changbin started thrashing around wildly, struggling against his sister's grip to get them both out of the sun's trajectory yet to no avail, he can feel his strength slowly fading. His skin was burning and it felt like lava was poured onto him.

Tears start blurring his vision, the pain becoming overbearing and he's scared that this might as well be his last moments alive, fighting to get out of the sun of all ways to go. The grip his sister has on him isn't even that comforting at all.

Suddenly, a crash resonated from somewhere in the room and the sound of the shattered glass clattering on the ground fills his ears, overpowering the sound of his body being sizzled alive.

A hand suddenly shoots out from out of nowhere and manages to grab onto his burning arm causing him to cry out, but the shadow yanks him back into the dark with his sister still on him.

Changbin laid panting on the ground when he felt his sister's grip on him loosen, he could vaguely register her choking over something through the ringing of his ears.

"S-stop-" Changbin gasped out as he tried to reach out to where the sound of his sister dying is coming from, "Don't k-kill-"

The sound of his sister choking soon faded as she let out one final wheeze for air before going silent and Changbin felt more tears spilling from his eyes. Sure he hated his sister's guts, but Soojin was still his sister and he didn't want her dead.

Managing to recover enough strength to look up, his eyes widened at the sight of a being clad in all black, shadows swirling around him while his bright yellow eyes stared down at him. Even then, Changbin knew he had seen this being before.

"M-Minho-??" Changbin choked out through his tears and gritted teeth, "W-why"

Minho stayed quiet for a few moments as he stared down at Changbin before looking at the second vampire he had subdued, "She's not dead if that's what you're worried about. I just made sure she won't be hurting anyone again anytime soon."

Changbin looked over at his sister's unconscious form, feeling his body relax in relief, "How did you find me though?"

"Your family isn't that hard to find, for one thing," Minho starts as he kneels down next to the tired vampire, "The second thing is, we're gonna be finding those friends of yours before they get captured or killed."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> soojin - vampire


	29. We're on a Runner's High

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> escape.

"Do you think we should pack toothpaste with us?"

"Hyunjin, what the fuck?"

"What? It's an honest question, you never know what'll happen."

"I- Y'know what? Just stuff it in our bag." Seungmin huffs impatiently and continues folding their clothes neatly into the duffel bags.

Neither sea people minded the clutter they were making from their packing. It just wasn't the time to worry about that, especially when they were in a rush to get out of there as soon as possible.

They were just on their way back to their dorms from a morning walk when Jeno and Yangyang intercepted them and told them what had happened to the cafe and that they should get out of the campus while they can. It wouldn't be long before the sentries would try and find them.

"How do you know they'll come for us though?" Seungmin asked skeptically since Hyunjin was still shell-shocked at the news they were given, "We weren't anywhere near the cafe when the explosion happened. We haven't been there in days!"

"It's because the sentries were walking around interrogating any suspicious person!" Yangyang hissed out in irritation, "You really think people won't notice how often you two visit the cafe? Someone's bound to snitch about how close you are to the owners."

"Even if you did pass the test they give you," Jeno cuts in before Seungmin can argue back, "They're still going to keep an eye on you from that day forth. I don't know about you but I really don't want you endangering our friends and whatnot. It would also give you a chance to find where Chan hyung and the others ran off to."

"He's got a point Min." Hyunjin speaks up after staying quiet throughout the whole thing, "I refuse to believe that Channie hyung didn't have a back up ready just in case something like this happened."

After a heartwarming hug and promise to find each other one day again, Jeno and Yangyang promised to keep an eye on the gates just in case any of the sentries would come while the merman and siren ready their things.

A tense silence enveloped two as they rummaged through their closets and drawers for anything that could be important. Both of them were individually thinking things over as they worked.

Being with Chan and the others was like having a new life, a fresh new start over of being normal. A second life was given to them.

Yet here they were, getting ready to leave everything behind as everything fell apart once again. Everything that had happened in the cafe was burned to the ground by the sentries that swore to do good and protect the humans.

They did nothing wrong, Seungmin thought, who was going to be there to protect them?

"Seungminnie, are you crying?" Hyunjin's voice asked in concern as he leaned closer to the merman's face, "Minnie..."

"I'm fine." Seungmin insisted as he shook his head, but he wasn't sure if he was trying to convince Hyunjin or himself, "Don't worry about me."

"Minnie, no." Hyunjin sighed as he kneeled down in front of the now sobbing man, "Talk me to me. It's not good for you to hold all this inside." he reached out a hand to wipe the tears forming on the corners of Seungmin's eyes.

Seungmin let him and the moment his warm hands enveloped his cheeks, it was like the floodgates opened and more tears started to spring out of Seungmin's eyes, streaming down his cheeks like a waterfall as he sobbed harder.

His bottom lip wobbled as he gasped for air and his body was shaking hard. For the first time since Hyunjin met him, Seungmin was coming undone in front of him, revealing a sensitive boy who had lost everything.

"I don't want to lose ... everything," Seungmin croaked through gasps and tears as he stared up at Hyunjin, "I don't want to lose the hyungs, I don't want to lose my home, I _can't_ lose my family."

Hyunjin said nothing as he stared at the man he fell for sob out his confession, his heart clenching in pain as Seungmin bowed his head to avoid looking at him and clutched onto his arms in a vice-like grip.

"I feel horrible. Everything just... The cafe just.. Everyone-" Seungmin wheezed out, unable to stop the words from flowing out of his mouth, " _They're go_ -"

Leaning down, Hyunjin planted a soft yet firm kiss onto Seungmin's forehead as the man shook in his arms, effectively shutting him up. He lifted the merman's head up using his hands and used his thumbs to wipe the tears off of Seungmin's face.

"Minnie, it's going to be ok. They're not gone, because I know Chan hyung. He's got to have some kind of back-up ready to save everyone. Chan hyung always pulls through to save us." Hyunjin reassured, finding his confidence halfway through his speech.

"Besides! Woojin hyung and Minho hyung can help us! Maybe they weren't at the cafe during that time, maybe they can help us find Chan hyung!" Hyunjin adds.

"What happens if they won't?" Seungmin asks back, trying his best to stifle his cries to stop any further embarrassment.

"I'm sure they will! A-and if ever they won't, I'll _always_ be here to protect you. I won't let any of those nasty guys lay a hand on you, I promise." Hyunjin swears as he smiles gently at Seungmin, who widens his eyes at the older's statement.

"Jinnie..." Seungmin whispers in disbelief as more tears start to form in his eyes. Touched wasn't good enough to describe what he's feeling for the older.

 _I love you_ was what Seungmin wanted to say but the words wouldn't come out of his mouth. Only a choked sob escaped his lips as Hyunjin hushes him by gently rubbing his back.

They stay like that for a while, just Seungmin trying to calm himself down while he's buried in Hyunjin's chest as the siren rubs a hand up and down his back. But it wouldn't last long since they both knew they had limited time.

Seungmin wordlessly leaned away from Hyunjin's hold, immediately missing the warmth the latter provided but didn't complain. "Are you ok now?" Hyunjin asked just to be sure, to which Seungmin nodded.

"Y-yea, let's hurry up." Seungmin replied softly, shakily standing up with Hyunjin's support.

"Oh, um, Jinnie," Seungmin called before Hyunjin could even move away, "I- You-" Seungmin groaned as he stuttered over his words causing Hyunjin to raise an eyebrow. "Just... Thank you."

The side of Hyunjin's lips perked up until a wide sunny smile was plastered over his face, "Anything for you Minnie!"

"This is the District Security Team! Open up!" a loud voice yelled from behind the dorm door, yet it was met with silence.

From their side, dozens of heads poked out of their dorms at the heavy footsteps marching in the halls, all curious and scared of the mess they were causing.

"Open this door!! This is your last warning!!" the captain called again as he waved hand signals towards his men, who got in formation in front of the door.

"3!"

Jeno nervously chewed his bottom lip from where he's standing at the doorway as everyone gasped and muttered to each other quietly. Donghyuck was next to him with his eyebrows furrowed.

"2!"

The men got ready.

"1!"

Everyone covered their eyes and ears as the sentries all charged towards their door, the wooden structure breaking at the force that was applied to it.

"Go! Go!" the captain yelled as the sentries marched into the dorm, no doubt turning every furniture upside down just to find the two supernaturals that inhabited it.

"Negative, sir!" one of the sentries reported from inside a few minutes later making the captain curse in anger. "Sir, the room appears to have been cleared."

"Where did they go?!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> seungjin aren't together ... y e t
> 
> jeno - ???
> 
> \--> my dumbass JUST realizing i already used runner's high in the past chapter smh


	30. More than one Question

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> gone.

Somewhere, a TV flickers to life and a news anchor's program is being played. The reporter seems to draw on and on about the recent events in sports as well as some celebrities being guest features in some famous talk show.

The screen changes and instead it's a different anchor with a more serious mood to it as the reporters stares straight into the camera while holding some papers in his hands.

He starts talking slowly as several images are flashed beside him. Some of the images appear to be shots of a lonely small cafe joint with people walking around or into it. The image changes, however, and soon the soft yet lively looking cafe is replaced with one that is charred black, yellow tape surrounding the area to stop a growing crowd from getting any closer to the scene.

It looks horrid with it's windows smashed open, inside showing nothing more than toppled furniture, all also burned to nothing but black. Faint smoke can still be seen coming out of the burned cafe. The word 'UNKNOWN' flashes over the image as the reporter frowns.

Later, an image of a blonde man is shown smiling in the photo, his dimples showing as his eyes crinkled with mirth. The reporter introduces this man as Bang Chan, the owner of the cafe. The reporter states that he, along with other residents of the cafe's establishment, are missing.

The next image he flashes is a rather intimidating boy clad in all black, glaring at the camera. The name Seo Changbin flashes under his photo. Beside his picture is a teenage boy with chubby cheeks who seem to be staring at the camera in surprise. The name Han Jisung appears under his image.

The reporter talks about how Han's family seems to in a state of confusion and demands to the government that they knew nothing of Han's friends and that the boy was innocent. They claimed that the boy must've been kidnapped and offered a total of 50 million won for the rescue of their family member.

There appears to be new residents in the cafe as well as the reporter brings up two names with no image attached. Yang Jeongin and Lee Felix were written in display for the viewers to see and be curious about.

The reporter glances down at the papers in his hands and explains that this is going to be last suspects of the cafe case.

The image that shows next is of a pair of boys both smiling brightly at the camera, their faces impossibly close to one another as they both gave each other a side hug. The names Hwang Hyunjin and Kim Seungmin appear on screen.

The reporter explains that they are missing high school students who are potential suspects since an outsider claims to have seen them often entering the cafe. Many customers of the cafe also claim that they seem to be very close to the owner and residents of the cafe.

However, the two students to have gone missing as the police force investigated their dorms in school and have found it to be cleared out. Some students have stirred a rumor that they were kidnapped by the monsters but police to think otherwise.

The reporter wraps up the report with a single nod, says the news anchor's main quote and the screen changes into a different reporter talking about a different matter, probably the weather again.

And just like that, the case of 9 suspected supernaturals are left as another tale to tell by locals.


	31. .outro

hiii, milk here

i don't have much to say but to quote myself when i finished writing this, i really didn't think i'd finish writing this book because of many reasons. one of them being my incompetence to actually finish a thing i start.

but i managed to overcome it and actually make it to the last chapter of this series.

and y'all are probably thinking that i left this on a pretty open note  
cuz while looking at the outline i had prepared, i realized that i had no idea what past me was thinking about when writing this

( i would post the book outline i had but lemme tell y'all ; it's pretty messy and wordy so i'll spare you the troubles''' )

before i move onto talking about the second book, i'm gonna talk about how i left the skz crew in the story.

first of all, bang chan. as introduced he's a pretty friendly and warm kind of person but he also carries around this mysterious aura around him. he's almost as old as time and his origins are unknown. he doesn't like talking about his past to just anyone and is extremely closed off. he's lonely and overprotective because he's immortal, he's been alive for far too long. he's tired and he wants to rest but he can't.

woojin. the one person or being that represents chan's past and memories. having met minho and his unwillingness to give up on his friend, he signs a deal with minho to link their souls so he can stay on earth as a ghost. he isn't sure what happened to his old body but it's probably beyond recognition now.

minho is a bit of a wild card for me. he's not purely good, but he's learning to step by step. he may not be as old as chan, but he's definitely old and he's done a lot in his time on earth. he may not be the strongest demon out there but he mustn't be underestimated for once he sets his mind on something he'll be a force to be reckoned with.

i wanted to make changbin a lil different from how most fanfics portray him as. i wanted to show that he isn't all just dark and mysterious and strong. he isn't strong all the time. he can be if it's for the ones he loves but sometimes people need to remember that he has his own weaknesses and needs a break.

hyunjin and seungmin are both mysteries in this story. it's not obvious but there's a different circle between the two of them, the students and 3racha. they're heavily codependent on one another and don't easily trust others, it's their way of coping with what had happened to them. they rarely ever open up to anyone so not a lot know what they had to go through.

there's a deep sense of loneliness in jisung. without the others, he was sure to spiral and combust. his magic is erratic due to lack of control, it's the most stable in potion-making. growing up without someone to guide him, he's taking small baby steps on how to be like the others and let them help him carry his burden.

felix is another wild card i had. i tried not to make him look like the main character of the story because i want all of them to be special in their own way but it's kinda hard to show since he's the starter character of the entire fic. another thing to note is that while he has been in the facility for a long time, he wasn't there his entire life and for some reason, he doesn't remember his past at all. why?

bad memories and survival instincts is what makes up yang jeongin's being. all he knew was about survival and a way to get by. he's a survivor and a nomad. since his escape, he's been running around trying to find resources and a way to survive. he's tired, and he wants a break and a home that doesn't crash and burn

they want a break. they all want closure. and they were going to do anything to get it.


	32. This is our Start Line

_"Welcome to District 20! Hope you enjoy your stay here in our peaceful abode!!"_ the tour guide cheered as a new wave of people swarmed out of the train, loud chatter of the crowd immediately filling the station.

Two individuals ignored her as they made their way past the woman and headed towards an escalator that led to the exit of the station, swiftly swiping their IDs at the scanners as they pushed past people.

They made sure that they were still close to one another as to not get lost while also keeping their distance from one another. They both received many curious and suspicious glances thanks to the mysterious outfit they chose to wear.

Their big black coats were a stark contrast to the warm-toned jackets and coats everyone else in the station wore. They stood out like sore thumbs and that's all the more reason for them to get out of there asap.

Pushing through the bustling station, Minho and Changbin both let out a sigh of relief as they somehow got out of the crowd and are now standing on the sidewalk of the new district.

"Check the address again. I want to make sure this is really the place before we get involved in any more trouble." Minho whispered to Changbin, who immediately nodded and pulled out his phone.

He pulls out a message from an unknown contact telling them to head to District 20 where they would be able to find some friends who could help them with their mission. Below the message there was an address given, they assumed this was the place they were supposed to go to.

"It doesn't look like an address for a home." Changbin hums as he stares at the words written in the message.

The two pull their hoods down as they try and blend in with the morning crowd and made their way through the streets, unaware of a pair of eyes that were watching them as they go.

===

"This has got to be some sick joke." Minho deadpans as he stares at up at the sign of a cafe. It has a different name from Chan's cafe of course, but he has no doubt in his mind that whoever sent them here brought them there with the purpose of mocking them of their loss. Some supernaturals tend to be sadistic like that.

Changbin sighs heavily next to him and Minho is reminded of how closer Changbin has been to the cafe, having been there longer than him and all that kind of jazz. Minho coughs awkwardly and walks into the cafe, holding the door open behind him for Changbin.

Changbin rolls his eyes at the gesture but walks in anyway. He looks over the cafe and is hit with a nostalgic sense as he is reminded of his old home and holds back the urge to sigh again.

Minho tugs at the end of Changbin's sleeve as he spotted a suspicious-looking person sitting at the corner of a cafe, holding a single cup of what seemed (smelled for Changbin) like a plain Black Americano. They'd say he was suspicious since he had been looking at them the moment they entered. When the man acknowledged that he's been noticed, he gave a soft smile and a soft wave as if telling them to come closer. Minho and Changbin gave each other a look before slowly making their way to the smiling man.

He raised a single eyebrow as they sat directly across from him, "You aren't going to order anything?" he asks, shocking the vampire and demon with his rough and low voice.

"Who are you and what do you want?" Changbin asks instead, crossing his arms as he leans back in his seat. The stranger rolls his eyes at the straightforward question but complies anyways.

"My name is Wonwoo, and as my friend has told you, we want to help you." 'Wonwoo' explains before taking a small sip from his coffee.

Minho narrows his eyes before craning his neck to look around and see if there was anyone close enough to eavesdrop on their conversation. They had just arrived after all, it'd be unwise to get into trouble immediately.

It was only then that he realized that the cafe was almost empty save for 2 teenage girls busy giggling and laughing over something on their phones on the other side of the cafe. The barista seems to be wearing earbuds as he cleans the counters too so it seems ok to talk about this.

"So right off the bat, I can tell you're not a regular." Minho says quietly as he turns back around to face Wonwoo, "You have a dark energy around you, and I don't mean to threaten you but I'm pretty sure I can take you if you try anything funny."

Wonwoo chuckled, "Is that a threat, Minho?" Minho narrowed his eyes at the mention of his name, "But you are right on that, I'm not sure about you 'taking' me though."

"I'm a reaper." Wonwoo says bluntly as he watches Changbin and Minho's eyes widen, "Maybe that's where this dark energy you're feeling is coming from." Wonwoo smiles.

Their heads turned to the entrance when the door suddenly rings and a couple walks in and heads to the counter to take their orders. The barista looks at them and takes off his earbuds as he makes his way to the cashier.

"What the fuck are you doing here then?" Minho turns back around and almost growls out under his breath as to not let the new customers and barista hear their conversation. He never liked reapers for the single reason that they were a pain in the ass to deal with sometimes, "Aren't you supposed to be out collecting souls or something?"

The side of Wonwoo's lip perked up at Minho's fiery statement, "Sass noted." he hummed, looking rather pleased with himself when Minho gave him a withering look. 

"Right... threats and welcomes aside," Changbin says as he gave Minho a soft kick under the table, "How and why exactly are you helping us?"

Wonwoo shrugged, leaning back against his seat again while bringing his Americano back to his lips, "I still owe your friend a favor, and I can't really return it if I don't know where he is."

"Friend?"  
"Chan hyung?"

Both Minho and Changbin said at the same time making Wonwoo roll his eyes, "Yea, of course it's him. It's not like I have any reason to be associated with his little troop unless he does something that defies the circle of life."

Changbin chews his bottom lip in thought. This whole thing was a little too sudden for him and the fact that Wonwoo just seems so nonchalant about all of this just bothers him more. Minho seems to bite into his words though as he huffs.

"Fine, so what are you gonna do then? Play a game of treasure hunt as you use their life-force to try and contact them?" he teases quietly. Wonwoo raises a brow at the latter's words but indulges him with an answer anyways.

"I would, but much like you, I can't seem to get a hold of Chan's -" "Hyung's" "life-force at all." Wonwoo continues, giving Changbin a pointed look when the vampire interrupts him mid-explanation, "Since he's, well, a immortal, his life-force is special and differs from the others. Since we can't exactly 'collect' his soul, it's almost invisible to us. So no, I can't use his life-force to help find him."

"Well that's fantastic." Changbin sighs as he slumps back against his seat, "Now what are we going to do?"

Wonwoo gives him an unimpressed look, "You know, we wouldn't have called you out here if we didn't have a plan."

"We?" Minho asks with an eyebrow raised, "I didn't think you'd have friends."

"Ok that was uncalled for."  
"Not really."

"Who is this we?" Changbin asks as he sits up straight again, not forgetting to smack the back of Minho's head as he does making the demon hiss and glare at him, which he ignored.

"Just trust us on this." Wonwoo says and gives him a soft smile as he takes another sip from his Americano.

_"We just figured it's about time we changed some things around here."_


End file.
